The Completely Expected And Rather Convenient Adventures of Mary Sue
by the BugSlayer
Summary: Humor, Excitement, Death, Deep Psychological Conversations, Strange randomly appearing people, Crazy plot twists. If that's what your looking for, then you've come to the right place. OC's don't have to be unrealistic. Seriously, check it out! The first two chapters are a little slow since they're mostly introduction, but I promise, it gets wayyyyy better. (Kili/OC)
1. Chapter 1: Meet the Protanganist(Me!)

You don't know me. But I know you.

Just kidding, I know nothing about you and I don't want to. You are a reader and that is enough. What I'm about to tell you is the truth. I am ashamed about some of the things I did, but I'm not going to sugar coat it to make me look better. And even if I did, Miley (My Friend) would just correct it anyway. This is the story of my adventure to Middle Earth. The ups, the downs, and the crazies.

But before we get to that, I should probably introduce myself.

Nice to meet you! The name's Mary Sue. To be completely honest, I hate it. I tried going by Mary for a little while, then by Sue. I even tried Suzy but that only lasted about three days. So you can just call me M.

Gilgamesh Feather-destroyer would be fine too, but most people just go with M. And for this story, I am too. M is a lot quicker than Gilgamesh Feather-destroyer anyway. (though Gilgamesh Feather-destroyer _sounds_ cooler)

I don't know _why_ my dad insisted on naming me Mary Sue. I mean it doesn't fit me at _all_.

But, that's my name. And that's why I call myself M.

I could tell you a bit about my personality now. Because I'm sure that would be interesting. But I think you'll figure it out for yourself as you read, so I won't bore you with a random list of adjectives that could describe practically anyone. The fact that I won't accept the name given to me has probably told volumes about me anyway! Though one must agree that it is a really stupid name. I mean, Mary Sue? Really?

I will say one thing though. I'm a tomboy. You can see on the cover. I'm the one on the right. Yeah. I look like a potato, I know.

I'm 21 as of last June and waiting with baited breathe until next June. Taylor Swift anyone? … Guess not.

Anyway, I'm a junior at the University of Scranton, working hard for my master's degree in Psychology. Well, not working too hard, but their still a whole lot of papers that I have to write, and I really don't like papers! Most people don't…

Yep that's pretty much it.

_Aren't you going to say something about your… 'Gift'? It's kind of important, you know. _

Oh! Right! That! That was Miley by the way. She'll be co-writing this with me. Though I'll be doing all the real work.

Anyway! Yeah, so… I'm not exactly normal. Well, apart from the fact that I have a suuuuuper dorky name. I discovered when I was younger, that I could… 'fall into' books. Yeah, it started with Treasure Island when I was about fourteen. Now I know why there were no girls in that book. I mean, seriously, those shipmen were dirty minded! (To say the least) But I survived, and come home, all in one piece.(mostly) Quite convenient timing too, cause school had just let out. Dad was furious with me, but after I told him what had happened, he forgave me and started scheduling my therapist sessions. Those were not convenient.

I avoided books for a while after that, but eventually decided I couldn't give them up forever. Maybe, Hunger Games wasn't the best choice… Anyway, I came out of it all right. When I die in the book, I just pop back to real life again. I didn't last five minutes. (Awesomest five minutes of my life though!)

Needless to say, I got quite used to my 'book hopping' as I like to call it. Enjoying little adventures over the years. Disappearing a lot during the summer. Then I told me friend about it… A rather hasty decision.

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**I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of "TCEaRCAoMS"... okay, that is way too long. Anyway, This story is dedicated to FormofJane and Jimxi, who sort of acted as my Beta Readers. This is actually a revision of what I had before.**

**Please review and tell me what you think! I really would love to hear any comments, the good and the bad. I'm here to learn, so any thoughts are helpful. Even if their about how that one part reminded you of your aunt's cat who recently had an accident, and speaking of accidents, did you mention that there was an accident outside your house that caused you to spill the peanut butter, which makes you really sad because you love peanut butter and now you don't have any and will have to go to the store, but you don't like going to the store because the lights are always flickering and...**

**You get the idea. Comments are helpful! They give me inspiration!**

**Next chapter, we will be meeting Miley(the friend). **


	2. Chapter 2: Meet the Sidekick(Not Me!)

_Hello! My name's Miley Comtois. Yes, Miley, as in the singer who's tongue won't stay in her head. And yes, I do constantly get teased about it. _

_I asked my mum why she named me that, but she would always avoid the question. I finally convinced her to tell me on my 22nd birthday (Yes M, I am older than you). Apparently, my mother couldn't think of a name for me, so she used a random name generator from the Internet… _

_I'll never forgive her for it. _

_There's a picture of me on the cover. I'm the one on the left. The one labeled 'Not Mary Sue'. Though I have to say that it's not a very accurate picture of me. _

It looks exactly like you.

_No it doesn't. I mean, of course I have long red hair and I am taller than you. But I do NOT wear clothes like that and make poses!_

She totally does.

_I do not. But that doesn't matter. You're just jealous because I'm taller than you._

_Regardless, I'm M's roommate at the University of Scranton. Though I'm really from England, not America. And you would be able to tell if I was speaking instead of typing because I have a British accent that always makes M burst into hysterics every time I say 'Justin Beiber'. And now I will stop talking out loud as I write, because I was unaware that M was reading over my shoulder (Seriously M, shut up). _

_I'm a senior, getting a Masters degree in Computer Engineering._

She's also a HUGE geek! Like… seriously, huge. So when I told her that I could disappear into books that I read, the first thing that she said was:

"Can you take people with you?" Not 'OMG you freak!' or 'You're pulling my leg right?' like a _normal_ human would ask. And when I told her that I didn't know, she said: "Can we try it out? I'll get The Hobbit, it's under my pillow."

"Why do you keep a book under you're pillow? Oh my god, it looks like someone tried to destroy it with a hammer."

"Stop swearing! Anyway, it doesn't look that bad. Just well used." She sniffed in disdain.

"How many times have you read that?" I asked, staring wide-eyed at the beat up book.

"Oh, just a few… times…" Miley shrugged. I sighed.

"Fine we'll try it." I took the book from her hands. "But keep in mind, we'll reappear in reality a week from now, no matter how long we're in the book, so cancel you're plans before hand."

"I don't have any this week." She nodded quickly. "So how do you do it?"

"Oh… I just start reading…" I thumbed through the first few pages. Of course it was the annotated version, which meant the first 20 pages were just the history of the book. At last I found the beginning.

"Maybe if we both hold the book and read it together?" Miley pondered.

"It's worth a shot." I shrugged. She moved next to me eagerly, taking the other side of the book in her hand. "Ready?"

"Of course." She smiled. I groaned.

"Miley, we went over this! You're supposed to say, 'ready as spaghetti'!"

"That sounds ridiculous though." She frowned.

"Whatever, just read." I sighed in resignation. We both cleared out throats and began.

_"In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit. It was not a nasty dirty wet hole, filled with worms and oozy smells. Nor was it a dry, bare, sandy hole, with nothing to sit down on or to eat. It was a hobbit hole. And that meant, comfort…"_

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**Well, I hoped you liked it! Next chapter, the action begins!**

**If you could do me one favor, if you could take a few minutes to review, just so I know that there's someone out there reading this, that would be beautiful! Thanks!**


	3. Chapter 3: Getting the Party Started!

My eyes shot open immediately and were attacked by the bright light of summer. Or at least it seemed like summer. The air was full of the sounds of birds and bugs. '_Oh no_.' I thought. '_This is one of those outdoor books, isn't it?'_ I sat up quickly and looked around, fighting off the headache that usually accompanied my transportation. I was lying on a dirt path, looking over a beautiful array of rolling green hills. Tiny little round doors were built into the hills with little fences and flowerpots all around. Tiny people with big feet and period looking dress milled about gaily. '_My God, they're Munchkins.'_ I looked around for Miley, wondering if the plan had indeed worked. I panicked for a brief moment when I didn't see her, but then her beautiful auburn waves came stumbling up the hill in front of me and she collapsed on the path by my side. She was deathly pale.

"I'm going to be sick." She announced at last.

"Side effect." I told her, remembering my first days in Treasure Island lying about in bed, throwing up, as Jim Hawkins was trying to deal with the pirates at his inn. "You get used to it."

"Quickly I hope." Miley frowned, one hand covering her mouth. "I'd hate to start the book by vomiting all over the front steps of Bag End."

"Where now?" I asked in confusion.

"Bag End. You know, dark green door, top of the Shire, home of Bilbo Baggins?" She looked at me. My blank stare returned to her. "Are you telling me that you have _never_ read the hobbit?" I shrugged.

"If I had, I wouldn't be here, now would I?" I looked up to see stone steps leading up to a small porch in front of a nice round green door. "So… Bag End is it?" I nodded. "Interesting." I stood up and brushed myself off. My jeans and large hoodie laughed at me as my efforts to clean them just pushed the grayish brown dirt further into the fibers. I breathed out a long sigh. "So, where do we start?" I looked down at Miley, who was still trying not to puke. "Come ON!" I sighed. "Just go in the flower bed already! No one will notice." She hesitated for a moment before rushing over to the bed of Daisies and emptying the contents of her stomach formerly known as lunch into the flowers. After a few minutes of gross sounds and slightly unpleasant smells if the wind was blowing the wrong way, she stood. Miley was super shaky and pale still. Like a very delicate china doll. It annoyed me to no end, how she could feel sick to her stomach and still look like a Disney princess or something. My first time, I just lied around a lot groaning and looking like a dead toad.

"Well," she said wearily, trying to get her wits about her. "There's no mark on the door, which means we've gotten here before the book actually starts. My guess, it's still the long introduction about hobbits and Bag End." I nodded.

"So, what happens first?" I asked, unsure of what to do. In the past, the book had just dropped me right in the middle of a huge mess that I had to sort out for myself, but this time… well. Everything was just so… peaceful. Then the door to Bag End opened and a small little man with curly hair and big hairy feet walked out. He looked at us in surprise.

"Hello, can I help you?" He asked. Miley looked like she was going to faint again.

"Mr. Baggins… Mister Bilbo Baggins." She breathed in awe.

"Yes… do I know you?" this 'Baggins' character replied. The man took a step toward us and I quickly dragged Miley behind me. Not that it did much good. She was a good foot taller than me. Another thing I hated her for. Though, to be fair, I was rather short myself. "Is she alright?" Baggins asked looking at Miley's practically white face. He took a few more steps toward us, but I backed up.

"Stay _right_ where you are mister." I hissed at him threateningly. He stopped abruptly and looked at me, clearly puzzled. "Keep your distance or I swear I will hurt you."

"I'm… sorry?" Baggins looked around in confusion.

"M, what are you doing?" Miley asked in shock.

"Taking precautions!" I hissed back. "He's an unknown man. You can never be too careful!"

"M, this is _Bilbo Baggins_ you're talking about!" the other girl sighed.

"In the story, is he ever alone with another female who's in the prime of her youth?" I asked quickly. Baggins gave me an offended look.

"Well no…" Miley admitted. "But still-"

"Take no chances!" I shouted. "Unless there's pizza involved. Do anything for pizza!" Miley groaned. Baggins opened his mouth to comment, then thought better of it and shut his mouth again.

"M, you're being ridiculous…" but her voice trailed off as she collapsed to the ground. I looked down at her and sighed.

"Pansy." I muttered under my breath. I looked up to see Baggins still standing there seemingly at a loss for words. He looked like Martin Freeman. It's happened before. Since, on some level, everything in the book was sort of, kinda, maybe generated by my subconscious, sometimes a few celebrities would sneak in. I'm telling you, I wouldn't have picked Jennifer Lawrence to play Katniss, but man… it was hilarious.

"Okay Baggins guy." I snapped at the person. "Looks like I need your help."

"_My_ help?" he chuckled. "Weren't you the one who just said-"

"I _know_ what I said!" I cut him off quickly. "And believe me, I don't trust you half as far as I can throw you! But we've got no where to go and then she just goes and faints on me like that!" I motioned angrily to the unconscious woman at my feet. "So I need your help, because you're the only one around here she seems to know. Keep in mind!" I raised my voice and looked at him sternly. "No _funny_ business or I'll sock ya in the eye! Got it?" Baggins paled slightly and nodded.

"Of course." He said, turning back to the green door and opening it. "Here, you can bring her in and lay her down on the couch." Huffing, I picked Miley up in a fireman's carry and followed Baggins into the house.

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**REVIEW if you have anything to say! It gives me strength and inspiration! It's like my writing food and if there are no reviews my creativity starves to death! (yes, I am being needlessly melodramatic) Hope you liked it!**


	4. Chapter 4: Home of a Hobbit

I'm not sure what I was expecting exactly inside the little hill, but it was surprisingly homey. '_It was a hobbit hole. And that meant, comfort.'_ The words drifted back into my head. Right. Well, it was the epitome of comfort. Sturdy, comfortable furniture filled the warm simple rooms. The smell of food drifted through the circular halls. I had to admit, the Baggins guy had class.

"Set her down there is fine." He pointed to a sofa by the currently cold fireplace. I dropped Miley unceremoniously into the seat and exhaled.

"I think she should be up in a few hours." I said to myself unhappily. Baggins coughed slightly from behind me.

"You, um, you seem to know my name, but I don't believe we've met." He said at last.

"Oh… right." I licked my lips slightly. I had a feeling M wasn't going to cut it. "I'm…" my mind went blank. "Gilgamesh… but you can call me Gil." He nodded.

"Bilbo Baggins, as you know." He held out his hand to shake mine, but I backed up immediately.

"Whoa! Whoa… no touching. No." I wagged my finger at him. He took a few steps back in confusion.

"Look," he started. "I know you don't trust me, but I would never…" his voice trailed off as I grabbed a poker from the fire and pointed it at him.

"Okay, you must be at least _this far_ from us at _all times_." I told him.

"You can't be serious." He looked at me. I nudged the poker a little closer to him. He sighed and rolled his eyes. "All right. All right!" he repeated a bit louder as I poked him again. He took a few steps back. "If it makes you comfortable." He sighed again. "Well, a least let me get a pillow for your… sister?"

"Friend." I corrected. "Do we look anything alike?" he shook his head slightly.

"You two just seemed close, so I thought you might be related." He muttered to himself as he walked over to another chair and grabbed a small cushion. Baggins started towards Miley with it, but I sprang in front of him, poker at arms length. He froze, then sighed, and handed the cushion to me. Or tried to anyway. But with a fire poker of distance between us, we couldn't reach.

"This is ridiculous." He said at last, arm falling to his side.

"But necessary." I scolded. "Here, just set it down where you are." He did so. I walked towards it, the poker ushering him backwards at the distance. I reached the pillow at last, bent down, picked it up, and walked backwards. Keeping an eye on Baggins the entire time. "You're not going to jump me as soon as I turn around, right?" I asked testily. He sighed loudly.

"Look, I was going to go smoke my pipe outside for a bit before you lot showed up, so how about I go and do that, and you can see to your friend without having to be paranoid the entire time." The hobbit suggested. I nodded slowly. He grabbed his pipe from the table and walked past me, giving me a wide birth as my poker followed hi movements. At last, he was out the door and shut it behind him. I sighed in relief and dropped the poker back in its stand.

"Hopefully, this won't be one of those books that's all men." I mumbled to myself tiredly. Turning my attentions now to Miley, I put the cushion beneath her head and found a blanket to spread over her. She looked much more comfortable, though still pale. I knew there was nothing to be done but wait for her to get over it, so I wandered about the room curiously. Besides the fireplace and sofa, there were a few more chairs. On the far side of the room, however, was a large desk covered in old papers and books. No wonder Miley wanted to come here. I made my way over to it and scanned over the large map on the center. The words 'Middle Earth' were in the bottom corner in fancy script. Detailed rivers and mountain ranges and forests dotted the map. The left side was ocean, but the other three sides lead to more land. My eyes read through a couple of the names on the parchment: Mordor, Bree, Gondor, Esgorath, Gap of Rohan, Aunduin River, Hobbiton. Hobbiton was probably where we were… I mean, it was a _hobbit_ hole after all. I guess Baggins was hobbit then. My fingers picked up an old dust tome. I turned to the first page and began reading. The book itself was boring, but it was so nice to be able to _read_ for once without getting sucked into some strange world.

The front door opened suddenly and Baggins came rushing back in, looking quite alarmed. He slammed the front door, panting, then after a second thought, locked it as well. I shut the book and hurried over to retrieve the poker again. I walked over cautiously as the hobbit put his ear to the door. I faint scratching sound reached my ears. Baggins sprung up and hurried to the window trying to see the outside of the door. I yelped involuntarily as a huge eye appeared on the other side, magnified by the shape of the glass. Bilbo too jumped in surprise and rushed away from the window to hide behind the corner. The large blue eye twitched slightly, fixed itself on me briefly and disappeared. Bilbo quietly snuck over to the next window and looked out of it. I moved behind him and we watched as a tall gray robed man walked down the path away from the house, humming contentedly to himself. Bilbo sighed in relief, but jumped in surprise as he turned around to see me right by his shoulder. I jumped too and immediately raised the poker in between us.

"Who was that?" I asked, still watching the tall man disappear behind a hill.

"I don't know." Bilbo admitted. "Called himself Gandalf. A wizard that used to come around these parts."

"A wizard?" I scoffed. "Just what exactly are you smoking in that pipe?" He glared at me slightly, but immediately dropped the glare and smiled.

"Yes a wizard." He said, walking into the kitchen. I let the poker hang down.

"What did he want?" I called into the kitchen where the hobbit was busily moving around.

"He offered to let me go on an _adventure_ with him." He chuckled slightly. "Can you believe it? An adventure!"

"Did you agree to go?" I asked, getting the feeling that this 'adventure' would turn out to be the rest of the book.

"Of course I didn't!" Bilbo snickered. "No respectable hobbit would even _dream_ of going on an adventure! Nasty, disturbing, wet things. Make you late for dinner!" this dude had his priorities straight. "And that's exactly what I told him!" Bilbo finished, somewhat proudly. "Tea?"

"Oh, no thanks." I nodded my head. "I really hate the stuff. But maybe a cup for my friend here, she practically breathes it." He hummed slightly in response and got out another teacup and saucer.

"One lump or two?" he called.

"Of what?" I replied in confusion.

"Sugar. Does she like one lump or two?" Bilbo's head poked back into the room.

"Oh… um, two I guess?" I had no idea. He nodded and disappeared back into the kitchen. I looked around lamely and sat down in an empty chair. Man was it comfy. Bilbo came in a few seconds later, balancing a cup of tea deftly in each hand. He sat down one on the little table next to Miley and sat down with the other cup in the chair opposite us. He sipped quietly for a moment.

"You sure I can't get you anything?" he asked at last.

"And give you a chance to drug me? No way!" I snorted. He just shrugged and continued sipping.

"So, where are you two headed?" Bilbo said, again trying to start conversation. I just shrugged. "That far?" I snickered at the sarcasm in his tone. He _could_ be funny!

"We're just kind of wandering from no where." I explained quickly. Bilbo nodded, excepting the vague explanation. I was thankful. The same thing hadn't worked so well for me in the past. Ender's Game. Those people were a stickler for details!

"Well," Bilbo said. "You're welcome to stay as long as you like! Hobbits always enjoy company." He glanced at me before adding. "And I'm sure you could find other hobbit willing to take you in that you'd feel safer with." He eyed the poker still in my hands.

"You don't seem to bad." I shrugged. He thanked me and finished his tea. Miley's proceeded to get cold.

"Are you sure she's alright?" Bilbo asked me, as he got up to take the now empty teacup to the sink.

"Yeah, she'll be fine by tonight."_ I hope._ To be honest, I was a little worried about how long Miley had been out of it. But I guess she was older than when I first hopped, so the shock hit her worse. I had gotten used to it by now.

"Well, I was meaning to go shopping later today." Bilbo said, coming back into the room. "And no time like the present! You're welcome to join me if you'd like. But I get the feeling you'd rather keep an eye on her."

"Yeah, she'd never forgive me if she woke up and I was gone." He nodded in understanding. "But thanks for the offer."

"While I'm there, would you like me to fetch some clothes for the two of you?" he suggested. "You might draw unwanted attention in such… outlandish garb."

I laughed. "Buddy, you have no idea."

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**:( not much happened in this chapter. But don't worry! Dwarves are coming soon!**

**Reviews are always super appreciated!**


	5. Chapter 5: Are there ANY women?

I dropped Miley roughly onto the guest bed and set the folded clothes on her stomach. She could change once she got up that lazy-bones. Though it was hard to stay mad at her when her skin looked so clammy and pale.

"Hurry up you moron." I whispered. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do here!" She didn't stir. I sighed, tucking my own pair of clothes under one arm and heading into the guest bathroom to change. I ended up in some sort of dark green dress/jumper thingamabob. This fit over an off-white shirt with baggy sleeves and a pair of bloomers. Even though I wasn't thrilled about being stuffed in a dress, the good thing is that it seemed to be very moveable. I didn't know what kind of book this was going to be, but I had to be prepared. Always be prepared.

I checked on Miley one more time, and headed back out to sit in front of the now lit fire. Bilbo was in the kitchen cooking from the sounds of it. I sat on one of the large comfortable chairs, toes wriggling. They didn't have any shoes in Hobbiton, and my sneakers didn't really help me to blend in very well. So, in the house at least, I decided to remain barefoot.

"Dinner if you want it." Bilbo called from the kitchen. I looked up with interest.

"Did you poison or drug it?" I asked warily.

"No, I didn't." He replied easily. I considered this for a moment, then my stomach grumbled and I gave in, coming into the kitchen where a delicious looking fish sat on a plate in front of an empty seat. Bilbo sat opposite with the same meal. "You eat fish, right?" he asked.

"Hey, food's food." I shrugged. Bilbo nodded approvingly as I sat down and dug in. Or I would have, if the doorbell hadn't rung. I looked up at Bilbo, who looked up from putting on spices, a mix of worry and confusion on his face. I put my fork back down.

"Who on earth could be out at _this_ hour?" I heard the hobbit mutter to himself as he got up from his seat and walked stiffly over to the door. Cautiously, I got up from my own seat and followed at a distance. I froze as the door opened on a large muscle bound freak covered in tattoos and furs and armed to the teeth with axes and hammers and knuckle-dusters. He glared down at Bilbo critically for a second before speaking at last. Though his voice was more like a growl.

"Dwalin." He bowed ever so slightly, still glaring at the hobbit. "At your service." Bilbo stared at him for a moment before remembering his manners.

"Bilbo Baggins, at…" He tied the sash around his robe. "…Yours." Dwalin brushed past him into the house. The huge man spared me only a second glance before turning back to Bilbo who had started talking again. "Do we… know each other?" the hobbit asked.

"No." Dwalin scoffed before stalking down the hall. "Which way lad? Is it down here?"

"Is what down where?" Bilbo asked sharing a confused glance with myself.

"Dinner." The man's voice came echoing back to us. "He said there'd be food. And lots of it!"

"H-he said? ...Who said?" In the meantime, Dwalin had found the fish. Bilbo sat timidly on a stool in the corner, watching the stranger devour his supper messily. After he bit the head off, I couldn't stand it anymore. I left quickly to go check on Miley. She was stirring ever so slightly, but still unconscious. I sighed. She wanted to be here so much and she was spending it all asleep. Sighing again, I headed back out to see if the stranger had left yet. A loud crack sounded through the halls. I rushed into the room to see…

"There's another one." I said, my mouth feeling dry. Now there was also a shorter man with pure white hair and a red coat. He was in some type of arm lock with the other and both were laughing.

"Yes, I'm aware." Bilbo frowned. He mustered some courage and walked over to them. "Excuse me." They kept on laughing. "But I'm not entirely sure you're in the right… house." The newest stranger turned around the reply, but instead saw me standing timidly back a bit. He smiled broadly.

"And who might this be?" the old man asked, walking towards me a bit. I stepped back immediately. Bilbo sensed my distress and stepped in between the man and me.

"This is Gil." Bilbo said politely. "She's-"

"His wife!" I spoke up quickly, smiling innocently. The man raised an eyebrow as Bilbo turned to me, confusion scrawled all over his face. I gave him a pointed look.

"Well, It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Baggins." The man smiled and bowed. "Balin, at your service." I smiled back as the two strangers walked away.

"What was that?" Bilbo asked as soon as they were out of sight.

"Self preservation!" I told him. "I don't know this people, and right now I trust you a lot more than them. Have you seen them? They have _weapons_. If I pretend to be your wife, then hopefully they won't get any funny ideas!"

"Why do you think they even would?" Bilbo frowned.

"Just speaking from experience." I hissed defensively. "Now hurry up, I think they found your food closet."

"It's a Pantry!" Bilbo called over his should as he stomped off to go saved his food. I watched from the hall, trying to listen in. All I could make out was something about mold and a piece of blue cheese come rolling down the hall to land at my feet. I picked it up, inspected it, found it free of mold, and bit into it. It wasn't much, but since my dinner had been so rudely eaten, I needed something. The doorbell rang again. Bilbo stomped past me and yanked open the door.

I felt like the bottom of my stomach dropped away. Standing in the door were two young men. One a brunette, the other a blonde. They were hot. But this was different. I couldn't stop staring at the taller one. As soon as they started speaking, however, I managed to snap myself out of it and turn away, feeling a blush creep up my neck.

"Fili." I heard one say from the door.

"And Kili." The other said.

"At your service." They bowed together, coming up smiling.

"M, what's going on?" a weak voice sounded from next to me. I turned quickly to see Miley standing next to me shakily in the light blue dress I had left for her. She was still deathly pale, and trembling slightly, but at least she was awake. And if she was awake, I could finally talk to someone normally.

"What on earth were you thinking?" I hissed at her. "Is there a single woman in this entire book?" Miley frowned at me before thinking for a second.

"I think they mention one, but she isn't actually seen." She replied in a still weak British accent. My eyes widened.

"What?" I tilted my head to one side.

"It shouldn't be a problem though." Miley told me. I couldn't believe this.

"How do you know?" I pressed. "How _can_ you know? This is way too dangerous! We better get out of here fast. I'll go find a knife or something."

"No!" Miley protested stopping me. "Come on, it'll be fine, I promise." I stared into her pleading eyes for a moment.

"Fine." I huffed at last. "But if things start getting out of hand, I'm killing us immediately."

"Fine…" Miley frowned. "Anyway, what's happened so far?"

"Well… Some wizard guy stopped by and left. And then these two weird guys came by. Balin and Dwalin."

"They're dwarves." Miley told me quickly, looking around for them anxiously. "There'll be eleven more on the way."

"Well two more are here already." I jerked my thumb towards the door where Kili and Fili were walking in. I was about to turn away again, when the dark haired dwarf stopped in his tracks. He froze, staring at Miley and I with a wide-eyed expression. My warning bells went off immediately, but something in my chest thumped painfully. The dark haired dwarf grabbed his brother's arm, still transfixed with us.

"Fili." He murmured. The blonde looked at his brother in confusion, then followed the other's gaze to us. A huge grin spread over his face. The blonde put one arm over the other's shoulder and led him over to us. As they approached, however, I noticed they were both looking at Miley, who was looking around in confusion. Uh oh.

"Kili." The dark haired dwarf said gently, eyes transfixed on Miley. "At your service." He bowed slightly, taking Miley's hand and bringing it up to his lips. He lingered there for a moment, staring into her dark green eyes. It seemed as though nothing could pull him away. Well, nothing except having a fire poker almost take out his eye. Kili stepped back in surprise, immediately releasing Miley's hand. I moved myself into the space in between them, holding the poker out in front of me.

Fili and Kili both seemed affronted by this seemingly hostile behavior, and I could feel Miley glaring down at my back.

"Listen up." I growled at the two dwarves. "You are not to come any closer than this to either of us. Understood? If you do, I have a justifiable reason to defend myself." Fili looked at me like I was crazy. Kili just looked hurt, staring up at Miley (who was a good foot taller than him) with a look of a star-crossed lover.

"Why?" Fili asked in confusion.

"None of your business!" I snapped at him. He smirked at me.

"Could it be you feel," he took a step closer. "Threatened?" I gritted my teeth together and jabbed the poker towards him threateningly. He didn't flinch.

"I need to sit down." Miley groaned, walking away, one hand massaging her temple stressfully. Kili watched her leave until Dwalin came up behind him.

"Come help us with this lads." He grinned down at them. Kili looked up in awe.

"Mr. Dwalin." And they disappeared into the dining room. Fili gave me another warning glance before turning and following.

* * *

**Well, that's the dwarves!**

**Review if you think this chapter was worth it.**


	6. Chapter 6: Conquest to Free the Pantry

"Let's shove this in the hall, otherwise we'll never get everyone in." Balin's voice sounded from farther away. Bilbo brushed past me, covered in weapons that had been dropped on him. He reminded me of a metal porcupine or something.

"E-everyone?" the hobbit squeaked. "How many more are there?" As if on cue, the doorbell rang again, longer than before. I turned almost as pale as Miley was. Bilbo stomped to the door ranting and dropping the weapons all over the place. He yanked open the door and eight more dwarves came spilling through. I stared agape at the writhing mass of bodies on the floor. A huge gray man bent down and looked through the door. "Gandalf." Bilbo sighed irritably. The wizard merely smiled.

"Gandalf's here?" Miley's voice spoke up. I turned in alarm to see her practically run to the door as Gandalf stepped over the pile of dwarves who were slowly untangling themselves. Miley looked up ever so slightly at the towering wizard, seeing as she was the closest here to his height.

"Hello my dear." The wizard smiled, pleasantly confused. "I do not believe we have met."

"Oh, Miley Comtois." The red haired girl smiled. "At your service." She bowed.

"Gandalf the Grey." The old man nodded back. "You seem familiar with dwarvish customs, but you don't seem to be a dwarf." He observed.

"Right…" Miley said quietly, probably making a mental note of it. "I saw some of the other guests doing it. It seemed polite." She explained quickly.

"And are you too a guest of Mr. Baggins?" Gandalf asked, walking with her over to the fire.

"Yes." Miley nodded.

"She's an old friend of mine." I spoke up, realizing my cover would soon be blown. I hurried over and smiled. "Mrs. Baggins, nice to meet you." Gandalf raised an eyebrow. As did Miley.

"Indeed?" The wizard gave me a knowing look. I swallowed nervously.

"Yes. Miley is a dear childhood friend of mine. She was stopping by for a visit when all of these… _dwarves_ showed up." I frowned, looking over at Bilbo who was desperately trying to stop a dozen dwarves from destroying his pantry. He was failing. The poor bloke.

"Can we go with you?" Miley asked excitedly. Gandalf turned to her in surprise.

"Go with me where?" the wizard inquired. I groaned. Miley was so going to blow our cover.

"To Erebor!" The girl pressed, enthusiasm spilling off of her.

"How do you know about that?" Gandalf gave her a queer look.

"Shut up now." I whispered quietly to Miley. She just smirked.

"I know many things Mithrandir." The wizard looked slightly impressed.

"You seem to know elf customs as well, to some extent. Though you are here in Hobbiton." Gandalf said, as if trying to figure her out.

"You are a Maiar." Miley replied. "Yet here you are. In Hobbiton." Now Gandalf was _really_ impressed. He regarded her for a moment.

"I can certainly put in a word for you with the leader of our company, though the decision is up to him." The wizard said at last.

"That is all I ask." Miley smiled, putting on an air of wise maturity. I rolled my eyes.

"And does your friend now many things as well?" he turned to me.

"W-what?" I stammered. "Well, yeah, but not anything useful." The wizard chuckled at my brashness.

"She is a skilled fighter." Miley said quickly.

"What? No I'm not!" I hissed at her. She gave me a pointed look. I coughed. "I mean… I have… some skill with a bow." Thank you Katniss. "But nothing extraordinary."

"Well, I'll put in a word for you as well." Gandalf nodded, before getting up to go take a head count of the dwarves. As soon as he was out of the room, Miley let out a super excited squeal. Her face was it's normal color again as she grabbed my hands and danced in a circle. I had _never_ seen her so excited. _Ever._

"We're in The Hobbit!" She grinned at me, her face ecstatic. "Can you believe it M?"

"Chill out! Will you?" I pleaded nervously. "We can't let our guard down."

"Oh come off it already." Miley rolled her eyes. "We'll be fine. This is Bag End for goodness sake!" I just glared at her. She sighed and pried the poker from my fingers, shoving it back in the stand. "Now, _Mrs. Baggins_, why don't you go help your hubby save the food." I growled at her slightly, but stomped away nonetheless.

The situation at the pantry was horrendous. The dwarves were grabbing anything they could get their hands on. Bread, Meat, cranberry sauce, Entire cheese wheels, anything they could get their hands on was moved to the dining room. Several chairs as well, though I was pretty sure at least some of them were antiques.

At first I tried to help Bilbo stop them. But this proved hard to do while keeping my distance, so I just glared at every dwarf passing by. The youngest looking got so scared of me that he dropped a basket of apples that he was carrying. Fili and Kili noticed it, picked up the apples and put them in the basket. Except for two which they bit into messily right in front of my face and chewed noisily. I was going to kill them. I really was. Even more so when I noticed that Kili was in fact an inch taller than me. Even though he was a dwarf. Unfair. The two apple-eating dwarfs strode off smugly as I pictured what I would do for revenge. The jerks.

Then the dwarves sat down and started eating. Gandalf and Miley joined them. I did not. Neither did Bilbo. I was starving though. I didn't do too well without food. The dwarves carried on loudly, throwing food to one another and walking on the table. And the belching. It was enough to make me sick to my stomach. My appetite suddenly disappeared.

Once their supper was over, they dispersed again and Bilbo was back on patrol, saving dishes and doilies from the dwarven clutches. I searched out Miley to find her sitting with Fili and Kili. All three were laughing merrily. She caught my eyes and stopped laughing. She excused herself from the two brothers and walked with me into the hall. I saw Kili's eyes following her out sadly. It annoyed me to no end and I had no idea why.

"What?" Miley asked angrily once we had stopped in the empty hall.

"You can't honestly be encouraging this?" I glared at her.

"M, you _need_ to lighten up!" the taller girl sighed. It felt really weird to hear her say that, cause usually _I_ was the one saying that to _her_. "We're going to be stuck with these dwarves for the entire story, so you might as well learn to get along with them."

"I don't _want_ to get along with them. I want to go _home_." I stressed pinching the bridge of my nose. "There are a bunch of unknown and unsupervised men in this house with us! We can't afford to be so careless!" Miley frowned.

"M… You've had trouble in books before, haven't you?" She asked. I swallowed and looked away.

"Yeah… just a bit." I snapped sarcastically. I could feel eyes of pity on me. I hated it. "Don't look at me like that!" I huffed at her. "It was forever ago. I just don't want the same thing to happen to you."

"I can take care of myself M." Miley smiled sadly. "And I'll look out for you too. I promise. So just try to have some fun okay? It really is a great book." I sighed.

"Fine…" I conceded. We both looked up in surprise then as a certain hobbit's voice rose.

"I don't understand what these dwarves are doing in my house!" Bilbo complained to Gandalf a little further down the hall.

"Excuse me." The younger dwarf I scared before said, walking up to Bilbo. "But what should I do with my plate?" Both hobbit and dwarf looked down at the plate, then up at the other.

"Here Ori," Fili said, walking over. "Give it here." I frowned. Where was the other one? But before I could speculate on the question, a plate was hurled straight at my head. I ducked quickly as the plate went flying over me to be caught deftly by Kili. Oh, that was the last straw. I stood and turned to the dark dwarf, fuming. But before I could say anything, Kili pushed me to the side before catching Fili's plate, which would have hit my head if I had not been moved.

"Are you trying to kill me?" I hollered at Fili who smirked at me before dashing off to find more plates.

"Oh! Did you hear that lads?" one of the dwarves said from the dining room. "He says we'll blunt the knives!" My mouth dropped open at what happened next. The dark haired dwarf began singing in a deep, rich voice, throwing his own plate into the next room, his other arm guiding Miley out of the way smoothly.

_'Blunt the knives, bend the forks.'_

Fili came back with more plates, taking up the song.

_'Smash the bottles and burn the corks,'_

The rest of the dwarves began joining in.

_'Chip the glasses and crack the plates!_

_That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!'_

The tiny hobbit hole turned into one of the craziest assembly lines ever. Dwarves tossing dishes and silverware to one another. Fili continued to hurl things at Kili, who caught them easily and passed them on, all the while spinning and moving Miley out of the way. She was laughing merrily, having the time of her life. I tried not to sulk. They looked so graceful and natural together. Like they were dancing. I had just been shoved out of the way like a sack of potatoes.

The song echoed behind me as I stomped out of the house, letting the door swing closed behind me.

* * *

**This chapter wasn't very funny. My apologies. But stuff needed to happen.**

**Review if you think it was worth it!**

**SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!**

**I had an Idea for another story recently. **

**Unfortunately, it requires over 20 different dwarrowdams. Even more unfortunately, I cannot come up with that many different dwarrowdams. **  
**That's where you come in. **  
**If you would like to PM me or review with a dwarrowdam of your own creation, that would be AMAZING!**  
**I need dwarrowdams of all shapes, sizes, backgrounds, and ages. Also, there is a possibility that not all will be used! But please, the more options the better! Be as detailed as you want!**  
**And thank you for your time!**

**\- the BugSlayer**


	7. Chapter 7: King under the mountain? ick

I plopped down on the top step of the front porch and sighed. Stupid dwarves and their stupid lack of manners. _I should just kill myself and be done with it._ I thought, ignoring how suicidal that sounded. A short, cloaked figure stopped in front of the gate, looking up at the hobbit hole. The person had huge thick boots and at least one weapon poking out from the bottom of the cloak. I ignored him until a deep baritone voice spoke.

"Is this Bag End?" the stranger asked.

"I guess so." I replied tiredly. He nodded but said nothing else. I guessed him to be another dwarf. He opened the gate and walked past me without so much as a second glance. He knocked on the door loudly and took a step back. The noise in the house suddenly fell silent. I couldn't help but look back at the newest arrival. To have such command over the inhabitants without even being there. It was quite the feat.

I watched over my shoulder as Gandalf opened the door. The dwarf lowered his hood and looked up at the wizard.

"Gandalf." The dwarf smiled slightly. "I thought you said this place would be easy to find. I lost my way, twice." He stepped into the house. "I would not have found it at all had it not been for the mark on the door."

"Excuse me?" I asked, standing up indignantly. "You didn't find it cause of some mark, you asked_ me_ if it was Bag End." I strode over to stand in front of him, hands on my hips. We were almost eye-to-eye. He raised an eyebrow and turned away. I had just been snubbed. Not surprising, I guess.

"Furthermore," Bilbo spoke up, coming to my rescue. "There is no mark on that door." He pointed, chuckling slightly. "It was painted a week ago!"

"There is a mark." Gandalf interjected, closing the door quickly. "I put it there myself. Bilbo Baggins, allow me to introduce to you the leader of our company, Thorin Oakenshield." Said dwarf turned to Bilbo, handing his cloak to Kili like a lap dog.

"So, this is the hobbit." Thorin said, looking Bilbo up and down. "Tell me Mister Baggins, have you done much fighting?" He started circling the hobbit.

"Pardon me?" Bilbo squeaked.

"Axe or sword, what's your weapon of choice?" Thorin said, coming to stand in front again.

"Well, I do have some skill in conkers if you must no." Bilbo bragged, puffing up his chest. He took a look at the serious faces and deflated again. "But I fail to see, why, that's… relevant."

"I thought as much." Thorin shook his head slightly. "He looks more like a grocer than a burglar." The other dwarves chuckled as Bilbo flushed angrily. I wanted to sock that dwarf right in the gut. He was just as rude as all the others. However, I managed to contain my violent tendencies and instead strode in front of him again.

"You're one to talk." I scoffed, causing the whole room to fall silent again. "Pretty quick to judge for an old man. I doubt you can even lift that axe." I nodded to the Weapon by his side. The room grew oppressively silent. I glared unwaveringly into the dwarf's furious eyes.

"Hold your tongue girl!" Dwalin barked at me, stepping forward. But Thorin put up a hand to stop him.

"I can assure you." The black haired dwarf growled. "I am more than able to lift my weapon. But I have better things to do with my time than to teach a lesson to a girl who doesn't know her place." I opened my mouth to reply, but Miley quickly rushed over and pulled me back a few steps. Thorin looked over at Gandalf.

"Who are these people Gandalf? You made no mention that there would be anyone besides the hobbit here."

"Yes, it was a bit of a surprise, I'll admit." The wizard nodded. "Allow me to introduce, Miley Comtois and Mrs. Baggins." He said. The dwarf turned to us.

"You are not a hobbit." He said to Miley.

"No my lord." Miley replied, nodding her head. "I am from the race of men. A traveler, coming to visit with an old friend." She nodded at me, who was still glaring at everyone and everything I could.

"And you." Thorin looked at me. "You are the hobbit's wife?"

"Got a problem with that?" I snapped.

"No, actually, that's not true." Bilbo spoke up. I was going to kill someone. "They arrived on my doorstep this morning and needed help." Thorin nodded and turned back to me. I swallowed.

"And why are you here?" he asked, staring straight at me. But it was Miley who answered.

"We are here to join your company." She smiled. Thorin's face became deadly serious as he looked between Gandalf and Miley.

"What did you tell them?" He barked at the wizard.

"I told them nothing." Gandalf replied defensively.

"Fear not, Thorin." Miley said calmly. "The integrity of your quest has not been compromised."

"You're going on a quest?" Bilbo spoke up nervously. Thorin sighed angrily.

"Why not tell the whole of middle earth?" he asked sarcastically.

"Thorin, Lady Miley has a gift, as I have come to believe. She could be very helpful to our cause." Thorin considered this for a moment before looking back at me.

"And what can _she_ do?" The distaste in his voice was evident.

"Nothing that you care about." I snapped back, turning to Miley. "I've had enough of this." I hissed to her. "You're on your own. I'm out of here."

"What?" Miley's eyes widened. "No, M, you can't!"

"I can and I will!" I snapped back, realizing all eyes were on me. "I've got better things to do than be mistreated by a bunch of dwarves!"

"M!" Miley hissed as I marched over to Bilbo.

"Do you have a sharp knife by any chance?" I asked the bewildered creature.

"A what?" Bilbo asked in alarm.

"A knife." I repeated impatiently. "_I_ want to go home."

"That isn't an option." Thorin's voice sounded from behind me. I whirled around to glare at him.

"What?" I asked, malice dripping over the word.

"You know about the quest." He said. "Who knows who you'll tell once we part paths."

"God! You people! Just let me kill myself already!" I shouted, throwing my hands in the air. A ripple of murmurs sounded from the dwarves. Yeah... that sounded really suicidal.

"M, get a _grip_." Miley hissed, grabbing my arm. She turned back to look at Thorin. "I apologize for my friend. She doesn't do very well if she's kept indoors for too long. But I assure you, she is a skilled warrior with a bow and will be a valuable asset." Thorin glared at me.

"I have no place for insanity in my company." He growled turning away. The rest of the dwarves followed as I yanked my arm from Miley's grasp. I turned on my heel and stopped out the door again.

"Where are you going?" Miley hissed.

"To get so fresh air, my lady." I snapped back before slamming the door. I disappeared into the night.

* * *

**I apologize for M's nastiness in this chapter. But it's kind of realistic. I regret nothing.**

**Review if you feel like it! :D**


	8. Chapter 8: You're a what?

I walked for a reaaaaalllly long time. The night air was not unpleasantly cool, but the wet grass nearly froze my feet off as a plodded aimlessly along. I was beyond furious. I had all but ran until I could barely see Bag End anymore. It had felt good to run again. I used to do track, but I quit a couple years back in high school because the coach was idiot. But bounding over grass covered hills and tiny rivers made everything seem insignificant. At least, for a little while. Then I slowed down and the reality came crashing back.

The most obvious solution would be to just kill myself and reappear back in my own world a week from where I had left. It's not like I hadn't done that sort of thing before. But it left a bad taste in my mouth. Like I was giving up. As if the book had defeated me somehow. And there was also the possibility that if I died, Miley would be brought out of the book too. It was my power after all. And she really seemed to love this book.

But all those dwarves… It was just asking for trouble.

That was when my stroke of genius hit me. Just because there were no women characters in this book, didn't mean they didn't exist. I would just have to go find some. Safety in numbers, as I old economics teacher like to say. Well, she probably meant something completely different, but who cares.

And then it all happened with such uncanny timing.

First I tripped and fell down a small cliff. The result of not looking where you're walking. Then I untangled myself from the brush and realized that I was in the edge of a forest. The old forest, as I later learned. And I had landed in a small clearing dipped down so that the trees and rocks formed a tiny wall around the grassy clearing. A small, sparkling brook ran through the middle.

And then I saw her.

I hope I don't sound like a lesbian right now, cause I'm not. But she was amazingly gorgeous.

Not because of her perfectly shaped features, or her long golden curls that were so long they reminded me of Rapunzel, or even the long off-white dress that flowed so beautifully around her. It was just _her_. I first, I had mistaken her for the scenery. She seemed to meld with the roots and rocks and moss in which she was nestled into so comfortably. She just seemed to _belong_. So naturally, as she lay, totally relaxed in her surroundings in what seemed to be a deep slumber.

I stood slowly, unable to take my eyes off her, and for a moment, I thought she might be dead. But at my movement, her eyes shot open suddenly and she disappeared. I stared at the place where she had been just moments before. Was I hallucinating?

"Oooooh! Aren't you a plain one?" I nearly jumped out of my skin as a cheery, musical voice sounded from behind me. I whirled around to see blonde haired young woman perched on a tree branch above me, looking down. I glanced quickly from where she had been, to where she now was. My mouth bobbed like a fish for a moment as her beautiful blue eyes blinked down at me. "Oh! You can see me?" her face lit in honest surprise.

"You teleported." I pointed out, unsure what else to say. Her laugh was like a tinkle of tiny bells. It was beautiful.

"No silly! I just wanted to be over here instead." She slid off the branch and floated down, stopping in front of me; her feet still a few inches above the ground. I noticed this immediately and slowly looked up at her in a mix of horror and fascination.

"You're... a ghost, aren't you?" I stated. She laughed again. Though it sounded pretty, it was starting to get on my nerves.

"Something like that. Though I must admit, I did not expect someone who could see me to be so plain." My awe was gone.

"Plain?" I raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me, I am _anything_ but plain."

"You just keep telling yourself that." She grinned, patting me on the head, though I didn't feel a thing. I tried to swat her hand away, but her arm just went right through mine.

"You can't touch me you know." She shrugged indifferently. "We aren't actually on the same plane of existence at the moment. Which is why you shouldn't be able to see me."

"But you can see me." I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Obviously." She smirked.

"Ugh whatever. When I said there should be more female characters, this isn't what I meant." With that, I turned on my heel, and started back up the cliff I had just tumbled down. The rocks cut into my bare feet painfully, but I ignored it. Anything to get me away from the crazy ghost girl. At last, I clambered to the top, panting and exhausted.

"So, where are we going?" I nearly jumped out of my skin again as the girl appeared next to me.

"_We_ are not going anywhere!" I said to her immediately. "_I_ am going back to where my friend is, because I'm not about to abandon her!" she laughed again.

"Ahhhhh, poor poor M." She shook her head, sending waves down her length of hair. "Don't you get it? You're stuck with me now."

"Stuck with you?" I raised an eyebrow. "And wait a minute, how the hell did you know my name?"

"Secrets." She winked. I clenched my fists furiously. How could she be so freaking cute and annoying at the same time?

"That's not fair." I stated, standing quickly and stomping off. She floated beside me effortlessly.

"What's not fair?" she asked pleasantly.

"You some how know my name, which is just creepy by the way, but I don't know who or what _you_ are!" I ranted, refusing to look at her.

"My mistake." She nodded. "The name's Rina." She extended her hand in greeting. I went to shake it, but my hand went right through hers. "Hah!" she let out a loud laugh, reeling through the air, laughing horribly. "I totally faked you out! Sucker!" she stuck her tongue out at me. I groaned.

"Is there anyway to kill ghosts?" I asked hopelessly.

"Nope." Rina grinned, pretending to lean her crossed arms on my head.

"Perfect." Was all I could grumble, trying to increase my pace, not as though it mattered. She just floated along, effortlessly matching any pace I set.

* * *

**XD mwahahahaha...**

**okay, anyway, review if you think this was worth it!**


	9. Chapter 9: Walking A lot

"M, where on earth have you been?" Miley hissed, seeing me arrive covered in twigs and mud. I had gotten more or less lost in my attempt to return to Bag End. And it turned out that I hadn't found it in the end. I had instead stumbled across the company of dwarves, plus Bilbo, Miley, and Gandalf, mounting their ponies on the edge of Hobbiton.

"Getting some fresh air." I said blankly. My lack of sleep was finally catching up with me.

"We were just about to leave without you." Miley said in a distressed voice, leading me by the arm to a pony. She was angry with me. Oh well.

"Hey, can you see this?" I asked pointing to the air above my head. Rina, who was still perched there, waved cheerfully down at Miley. The red haired stared at my finger blankly, trying to figure out what I was pointing at.

"What?" she asked in confusion.

"Never mind." I sighed.

"Told you." Rina chuckled. "Most people can't see me. Or hear me for that matter."

"Great, so now it'll look like I'm talking to myself." I grumbled under my breath as Miley walked away to one of the other ponies.

"Pretty much." Rina grinned.

"What did you say lass?" a hat wearing dwarf said to me from his seat upon a pony.

"Nothing." I sighed, looking around. "Wait… so which pony do I get?"

"You'll have to share." The hatted dwarf shrugged. "I'm Bofur, by the way."

"Nice to meet you." I nodded back, though not paying any attention. "Hey Bilbo!" I hollered, making the already nervous hobbit jump even more on his pony. "Care to share?"

"W-what?" he stammered.

"Can I ride with you?"

"O-oh yes." The hobbit nodded.

"Great." I said, walking over tiredly. This was going to be a long journey, I could tell.

"I wouldn't bother him my dear." Gandalf trotted next to me. "He needs to learn to ride on his own." Bilbo frowned unhappily at the wizard.

"So what am I supposed to do?" I raised an eyebrow. "Walk?"

"You will share a pony with one of the others." Thorin said authoritatively. I glared at him as Miley trotted by, sharing Kili's pony. I scowled deeply. "Fili, she will be riding with you." Thorin then turned away and Fili trotted up next to me, hand outstretched. I stared at it for a moment before turning away and starting after the line of ponies forming.

"Where do you think you're going?" Fili asked from behind me. Everyone seemed to be annoyed with me.

"Wherever it is you lot are going I suppose." Was my reply, though I didn't bother to look back at him. He came to trot alongside me.

"On foot?" he snorted.

"Better than having to ride with you." I spat back. Miley glanced back at me, tapped Kili's shoulder and started a brief conversation before swinging off the pony.

"Here, M." She said, coming over to me. "You ride with Kili. I'll see if I can ride with Gandalf, the ponies are a bit too short for me anyway." She smiled slightly and walked off to Gandalf. I looked after her, feeling abnormally guilty. She and Kili seemed to get along so well. Annoyingly well.

"Soooooo, which one's Kili?" I jumped slightly and looked up at Rina.

"That one." I glanced over at the brunette dwarf who was staring forlornly after Miley. Rina made some sort of dying noise.

"You have an _awful_ taste in men." She commented. I glared at her. "Besides that, he's obviously smitten with your friend. Just give up already."

"There isn't anything _to_ give up." I commented plainly. Rina just snorted. Stupid ghost. I was too busy in conversing; I didn't see Kili coming towards me.

"Come on." He sighed, stopping his pony in front of me. "We're going to get left behind by the others." I, resignedly, accepted his hand for him to pull me up into the saddle.

Wow.

The moment our hands touched, I felt something like a spark of electricity run through me, making all my nerves go rigid before collapsing into a state of jelly. My legs collapsed to the ground as Kili immediately released my hand in shock.

"M!" Miley shouted in alarm, catching sight of me collapse to the ground. My mind went into a state of hazy shock as the company halted and looked back. I did not notice as several dwarves and the three other non-dwarves dismounted and rushed to me. Nor did I notice that Kili continued to stare at his hand with a puzzled expression.

"M?" Miley shook my shoulder. "M, are you okay?" a gray haired dwarf began looking in my eyes with a medical air about him. At this however, I snapped out of my daze.

"I'm fine." I snapped, wide eyed, pushing the hands away as I stood and turned back to the line of ponies. Though I said so, my eyes were still glazed over, and it was impossible too focus on anything. "I'll just walk, don't mind me." And I did, my limbs felt strange and numb however, as I strode along wearily behind the line of ponies. Only Bilbo felt any inclination to stay next to me, even if that meant falling a bit behind the others. And, of course, Rina. The ghost woman had started testing if Bilbo could hear or see her. It started by simply waving her hand in front of his face, or shouting in his ear. When those made no impression, she started taunting and making rude gestures, fully taking advantage of her invisibility.

I didn't take notice of any of it. I couldn't focus on anything. Just on putting one foot in front of the other. Several times, Bilbo said something about taking a rest, but I ignored him.

It was only when Thorin called out that we would be making camp for the night, did I finally slow my pace. The dwarves quickly set to work making themselves at home and working out who would take first watch once they had all turned in. It was only when Bofur called my name did I finally move. I looked up in shock, as my legs crumpled to the ground, dragging the rest of me with it. Miley and the gray dwarf from before were immediately at my sides.

"M? What's wrong? Spit it out!" Miley shook me.

"Alright, alright!" I said, holding my hands up to stop her. "I'm fine." I shook my head. "I just spent the _entire_ day, walking at the same pace as ponies! What did you expect?"

"It was your own fault." Fili's voice sounded from behind me. I groaned.

"Spare me." I shook my head. The gray haired dwarf shook his head and stood.

"There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with the lass." He reported.

"Thank you Oin." Miley nodded.

"Hey, is he their medicine dwarf?" Rina asked curiously. "That is uncanny! Oin… in charge of the _oin_tments!" She laughed hysterically. I just rolled my eyes. Then my annoyance vanished instantly as I saw Kili walking over.

"How is she?" He asked Miley, though he wasn't even looking at me.

"Oin said she'd be fine." The crimson haired girl sighed. "Thankfully. I don't know what she was thinking, walking all the way."

"I _am_ still here you know." I sulked. Kili glanced down at me. Our eyes locked briefly, then he immediately turned away, almost nervously, to look again at Miley.

"Well, Fili and I saved you a spot by the fire if you care to join us."

"Thank you kindly, master dwarf." Miley smiled beautifully. I looked away in disgust.

"Get a room, will you?" I huffed. Miley shot me an annoyed glare before turning away to head to the fire.

"Nothing to give up, huh?" Rina smirked at me. I glared back. Apparently, however, there was someone sitting on the other side of her, because that someone let out a terrified squeak. Rina floated up slightly, whirling around in surprise. I found myself looking right at Ori. My glare immediately diminished.

"Oh! I'm sorry! I wasn't glaring at you! I swear!" I apologized quickly. The trembling dwarf just ran to his eldest brother.

"He's…" Rina gaped. "Perfect." I looked at her in surprise.

"What?" I frowned. Her eyes were fixed on Ori.

"That striking lad over there." She pointed straight at Ori, her mouth hanging slightly agape. "He's perfect." I turned back to her.

"You can't be serious." She looked back at me.

"You really must be blind." She shook her head. "What's his name, anyway?"

"Ori." I sighed, burying my head in my hands.

"Beautiful." Rina breathed, floating over towards the dwarven scholar. My stomach grumbled hungrily, but I was too tired to do anything about it. Instead, I just flopped on the ground, and tried to fall asleep.

"Hah!" the last thing I heard was Fili's mocking voice. "It's settled! Kili, you get first watch!"

"Gee, some friend you are."

"Enjoy yourself!" and I drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

**Some development! Finally!**

**Review if you want. I'll appreciate it!**


	10. Chapter 10: Facing myself

I didn't like sleeping in books. It was always like a gray haze of nothingness. A nothingness that I had to wait through. The whole night, sitting in a gray haze. And to make it worse, I was freezing. The dew must have settled on me, or the night chill. At any rate, I was confident I was going to catch a cold. But sometime, during the sleep, the cold seemed to lessen. Most likely Miley with an extra blanket or something. And then I felt movement. Something was moving me. First rapidly, then in a gentle, almost soothing bob. But I still couldn't wake up. The gray haze persisted to fill my senses.

Then, slowly, I began to drift into consciousness. I was leaning against someone as a pony moved beneath me. I opened my eyes to see the face of a blonde haired dwarf, his eyes fixed on the rode in front of him.

"What the hell!" I exclaimed loudly, scaring most of the ponies and jumping away from him myself, sending myself so wisely out of the saddle and toppling down a large, rocky incline that the company was riding along the top of. I tumbled painfully down the cliff before landing in a heap at the bottom.

When I at last untangled myself from the brambles at the bottom, I looked up to be, once again, the center of the company's stares. I stared back stubbornly. Rina floated down, holding back a chuckle.

"Well, it would seem she is finally awake." Gandalf smiled down at me, clearly amused.

"Do you really think this woman will aid our quest?" Thorin questioned, clearly _not_ amused.

"She has many talents." Miley defended me, though the look in her gaze clearly said '_M, you better start shaping up or we'll never pull this off_'.

"I don't think sleeping and falling count as talents." Fili smirked.

"Neither does being a jackass." I snapped back. Several of the dwarves chuckled.

"At least she doesn't look like she got trampled by an Oliphant." Kili commented, quick to defend his brother. I gritted my teeth, suddenly aware of what a state I must be in at the moment. Covered in dirt and cuts, my hair a mess, and my clothes torn and stained. I looked up at Kili.

"Well, at least I'm not a vain jerk that won't even share a pony if he's not trying to get into someone's trou-"

"M!" Miley shouted. I shut my mouth immediately and glanced at the red head. She was trembling furiously.

"Sorry." I grumbled, before turning and walking away.

"Where do you think you're going?" Thorin's voice rang after her. Obviously worried about the integrity of his _oh so secret_ quest.

"I'm not climbing back up that!" I shouted over my shoulder. Falling down a cliff was one thing, climbing up it was completely different. "I'll just meet you at the bottom." And I stomped off, once again, travelling on foot. Rina floated quietly behind me.

"You don't get along with people very well, do you?" she observed after a moment.

"I get along with people fine!" I snapped.

"Suuuuuuure you do." She nodded.

"Look." I sighed, stopping a moment to look at her. "I'm not the best with people. I'll admit. But I've survived well enough so far. I'll make it through this journey even if it kills me." I turned and started walking again, adding under my breath. "Sooner rather than later I hope."

"Sure, you can _survive_ it." Rina rolled her eyes, floating on her back easily. "But maybe if you try to get along with people, you might even _enjoy_ it!" I glanced at her for a moment.

"Enjoy a medieval rode trip with a bunch of dirty men?" A loud snort came out my nose. "Highly unlikely."

"You know, they aren't as dirty as you believe." Rina sighed. I didn't reply. "I was watching them, you know. While you were asleep. They seemed genuinely worried when you didn't wake up."

"You're a terrible liar." I said.

"I'm not lying." She shot back. "They really were concerned! They discussed several plans, but not once did they even consider leaving you behind."

"That's dumb. I would have ditched them in a heart beat."

"Oh… now I get it." Rina stopped, floating to the ground. I turned to look at her in confusion.

"Get what? There's nothing to get." I huffed.

"No… you… you can't accept that people can be kind." Rina looked at me with eyes filled with pity. I hated it. "You can't accept that people aren't like you."

"Like me?" I raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean like me?"

"A liar, rude, untrusting, untrustworthy, and self obsessed." She rattled off quickly. I stared at her. Slowly, opening my mouth to cuss her off. But after a moment of silence, I shut it again and turned away, quickening my pace in a desperate attempt to get rid of the horribly perceptive ghost.

"So I'm right?" she asked, floating behind me.

"Oh for the love of everything! Will you just leave me alone?" The words rang out of my mouth and I sprinted forward. I ran and ran and ran. My just heaved and my tears flowed. My feet grew more and more bloodied as I hurtled across the silt-covered ground. But I didn't stop running.

She was wrong. Wrong. She had to be! People were like that! It wasn't just her. It couldn't be! Everyone lies! Everyone thinks only about themselves! Everyone trusts no one. That was just a fact of life. It was the truth. If I had learned anything over my 21 years of life, it was that this was the _only_ truth. The only truth that always applied. Always.

Who was some ghost to tell me otherwise? She knew nothing! She had lied, just like everyone else! So I did the only thing I knew to do.

I ran.

_"My feet are killing me." Kili groaned from his saddle behind me. I leaned away from Gandalf slightly to look back at the dwarf. _

_"You're feet are killing you?" I laughed. "But you're riding a pony."_

_"I know, but my feet are still killing me!" the brunette frowned. I laughed happily. The dwarf reminded me very much of my little brother. I hadn't seen Hamish in so long. And Kili was truly a joy to be around. A dear friend. But I could never see him being anything more than that. I don't know why M seemed to think so. She was definitely acting very odd since coming here. She had always been a little strange, but in a good sort of way. The kind of way that always keeps you pleasantly on your toes. But since coming to Middle Earth, the girl had taking a frightful turn for the worst._

_I wanted desperately to help her somehow, but I had no idea how. If only she would just loosen up a little._

_Thorin called out a halt from the front. I looked around to see that we had reached the bottom of the incline. Which meant M was most likely there. I sighed slightly and dismounted walking down to the front. But the sight I saw had me running the rest o the way down._

_M was curled up against the cliff, her feet bloody and raw._

_"Oh no." I breathed, stopping in front of her. She stirred slightly and looked up at me. Her eyes were puffy and red, dried tears gracing her cheeks. Slowly, she smiled a thin, weary smile._

_"Took you all long enough."_

* * *

**So is anyone reading this still? just wondering. I don't want to be wasting my time.**


	11. Chapter 11: Let's be Friends

It all seemed so simple now. No one could hurt me if I didn't let them. That's all there was to it. So I decided to take Rina and Miley's advice, and just lighten up. But first, I was going to sleep. And I was going to sleep for a long, long time. The gray haze had already overtaken me when someone's arms lifted me off the rocky ground. And I knew nothing more.

"Wake up wake up wake up wake up wake up wake up wake up wake… Yay! You're awake again!" Rina's voice penetrated annoyingly through my skull. I still hadn't moved, how did she know I was awake? "Come on! Don't try to hide it! It won't work anyway." Groaning slightly, I opened my eyes. It was night. Or so I assumed. The only light seemed to be coming from the crackling fire. It was quiet too. Just the sounds of crickets and snoring.

"You're finally awake." A gentle voice whispered sounding relieved. I looked up to see Miley smiling down at me. My head was lying on her lap like a pillow. The rest of my body was wrapped in a cocoon of blankets. I could not feel my feet. I didn't know whether that was a good thing or not.

"I guess I am." Came my croaking reply, a smile slipping over my own features.

"You sound like a frog." Miley chuckled stroking hair out of my face.

"You sound like my mom." I snorted back, closing my eyes again. Miley was silent for a moment.

"You never talked about your mom much." She commented lightly. My eyes opened again and I stared straight into the fire. I was suddenly aware of Fili and Kili sitting nearby. They seemed to be the only ones still awake. Oh well. It didn't matter if they heard. The dwarves probably wouldn't care anyway.

"She died when I was young." I told Miley softly. "A few months before I discovered my gift."

"Oh." The red head said quietly.

"It was awhile ago, no big deal." I sighed. The blankets really were very comfortable.

"You should get some more sleep." Miley suggested after a silence. "We won't be breaking camp for a while yet." I hummed back, letting my eyes close again as my body relaxed once more. But it wasn't to last.

The air was split with an unearthly cry. It echoed around the surroundings, causing me to shoot up into a sitting position. The cry came again as my favorite hobbit came hurrying back to the fire.

"What was that?" he asked.

"Orcs." Kili replied, his face grim.

"Orcs?" Bilbo repeated, looking around nervously.

"Throat cutters." Fili elaborated. "There'll be dozens of them out there. The low lands are crawling with them." I glanced over at the blonde dwarf and rolled my eyes. Miley shot me an equally unamused look. We both knew where this was going.

"They strike in the wee small hours when everyone's asleep." Kili continued, pulling a classic horror story face. "Quick and quiet. No screams, just lots of blood." The younger brother watched Bilbo closely as the hobbit looked around nervously. Fili, however, glanced in our direction. I made a show of yawning and lying back down. It sent the message across loud and clear. _Not very impressed_. Kili however, found Bilbo's reaction hilarious, letting out a chuckle before turning back to whatever he was whittling away at.

"You think that's funny?" Thorin's voice barked, making me jump slightly again. Won't these people just let me sleep? "You think a night raid by orcs is a joke?"

"We didn't mean anything by it." Kili said quickly, shame evident in his voice.

"No, you didn't." Thorin spat. "You know nothing of the world." And the brood master stalked off in majestic flashback memoryness. I tried hard to hold back a snort. So melodramatic.

"Don't mind him laddie." Balin said, walking out of the shadows. I was _never_ getting any sleep again. "Thorin has more cause than most, to hate orcs." I listened passively as the old dwarf launched into a story about a battle and fighting. His grandfatherly voice was the only reason I kept interest. I don't mean to seem rude or anything, because I'm sure Thorin had a very hard time with everything. But I wasn't the type who liked stories about huge wars. "There is one, I could call king." Balin finished. All the company was awake now, watching as Thorin turned back around, sadness in his eyes.

"But the pale orc…" Bilbo spoke up, breaking the silence. "What happened to him?"

"He slunk back into the hole from whence he came." Thorin growled. "That filth died of his wounds long ago."

"No he didn't." I turned in surprise to see Rina frowning next to me, arms crossed. The ghost looked down at me. "The pale orc isn't dead."

"Miley," I whispered as the rest of the company settled down to sleep again. "_Is_ he dead?"

"Yes." She answered. "But his son makes an appearance towards the end of the book." I frowned, but nodded anyway. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason." I shrugged. "I'm going to get some sleep while I can. Wake me before we leave all right? I'd rather not wake up to ponies again."

"Fine." Miley chuckled. "Good night."

"G'night."

And I was awake again. The sunlight illuminating the dew covered camp. Resignedly, I squirmed out of the mass of blankets. Where did they all come from even?

"And sleeping beauty has awakened!" Miley announced, causing Kili and Fili to let out amused snorts. I rolled my eyes.

"How kind." Ah, nothing like peers to give you a hard time about everything. "Anyway, Miley, could you introduce me to everyone? I think I may have started off on a bad foot." Always now all you can about others. Best way to learn their weaknesses.

"Good one!" Fili snorted. He seemed to be in a good mood this morning. Apparently Thorin's put down hadn't really hit home for him.

"Good what?" I frowned.

"Joke." The blonde smirked. "Mentioning a bad foot."

"How is that funny?" I frowned further. He just nodded down at my own feet. I looked down to see them bandaged tightly. No wonder I couldn't feel them. "Oh." I said simply. "That's why I'm funny."

"Anyway, your gonna be riding with either Kili or I today." Fili stood, tucking his pipe away.

"I still don't get my own pony?" I sighed.

"Nope." He shook his head. "Do you even know how to ride one?" I gave him a look. "Okay, okay. It was a valid question though."

"What would make you think that I couldn't ride one?" I asked.

"Because you're a nutcase." I turned to find Kili grumbling as he packed his saddlebags.

"Excuse you." I raised an eyebrow. Miley appeared almost immediately and put a hand on my shoulder.

"Don't push it M. Come on, I'll introduce you to everyone." She started to pull me away.

"Don't push what?" I asked in annoyance. "It's not like he can just go around be rude to me like that." Miley just stared at me for a moment.

"Did you completely forget what you said yesterday?" I looked at her in confusion for a moment, before the conversation came floating back to me after I had fallen down the cliff.

"…Oh. You must admit that it was true though."

"M!" Miley hissed, getting angry.

"What?" I raised my hands defensively.

"We're just friends you idiot." My roommate snapped.

"I'm pretty sure he's got a bit more than friendship on his mind." I couldn't help but comment.

"Can't let go." Rina whispered mockingly.

"Just drop it M." Miley sighed. "You were being rude, no mater the situation." Before I could reply, the red haired girl dragged me off to meet the dwarves. I learned their names. And then promptly forgot them. Oh well. They all rhymed anyway, how was I supposed to remember them?

"Oooooh, can you ride with Ori today?" Rina squealed hopefully.

"What? No way." I looked at her. "If you're so infatuated with him, go follow him around."

"But he can't see me!" Rina looked pained to say this. "And he's so quiet… I just want to hear his voice… to see him talk… to-"

"Not my problem!" I snapped, realizing that everyone was looking at me. Oh snap. "Sorry about that." I apologized quickly, turning away in embarrassment. "Look what you made me do!" I hissed so only Rina could hear.

"Serves you right for keeping me from my true love." She sniffed in disdain.

"Whatever." I rolled my eyes.

"Hurry up and get on." Kili spoke suddenly, trotting up on his pony.

"Oh no, I wouldn't force you to ride with a _nutcase_." I shook my head empathetically. "I'll ride with Fili. He actually seems to have a sense of humor anyway."

"Fine." Kili snapped.

"Fine." I snapped back, stomping off to go find his elder brother. Jerk.

Unfortunately, because I was riding with Fili, that meant I was also on the pony either in front of or behind Kili. And also Miley, which was cool, but the brunette dwarf was really starting to get on my nerves. It's not that he was ignoring me. I could deal with that. It was the fact that he took every chance he could to insult me. It seemed totally uncalled for. So once it started down pouring, I took the opportunity to ask Fili about it while Bilbo gave Gandalf a hard time about wizards or something like that.

"So, what is the deal with your brother?" I asked from my seat behind Fili.

"What about him?" the blonde replied. I glanced around for Rina, but she was off floating behind Ori. Good. No comments from the peanut gallery today.

"Well, he obviously hates me." Fili shrugged in reply. "Why?"

"Well, you did insinuate something rather scandalous about him."

"Scandalous?" I scoffed. "Okay, maybe a bit rude, but you must admit that he's been pining after Miley since he first laid eyes on her." As the words came out of my mouth, I could feel my stomach knotting uncomfortably at the obvious truth.

"Do you know much about dwarves, Gil?" Fili asked after a moment. Gil? Oh, right… my alias.

"Absolutely nothing." I replied. "Do tell." More weaknesses. It was wonderful.

"We dwarves have a One." Fili started. "A dwarves One is the one other that they will love for the rest of their lives, no matter what. A special bond forms between the two people upon meeting. They're never quiet the same ever again." I frowned.

"That's… like a sappy romance novel." I snorted.

"Watch it, that's the customs of my people you're insulting there."

"Sorry, sorry." I apologized. "So what's this bond like?"

"It's magical, lass." A dwarf spoke from the pony behind me. I turned to see… Gloin? I think? "When I first laid eyes on my wife, I just _knew_ she was the one for me. My life just felt complete." I grunted in reply. "It was very hard to leave her behind for this quest. It's very hard to be apart from someone's One for too long." Sappy romance novel. "I wasn't going to go, but my wife insisted. Mahal, I miss her."

"What's she like?" I asked, slightly interested. I wasn't one for sappy romance, but I was really bored.

"She's a true dwarrowdam. Aye, as strong as any dwarf, that's for sure. Raises our son with and Iron fist, she does. Poor Gimil was so disappointed that he didn't get to come with me. Nonetheless, he's still but a lad. Could hold his own in a fight though."

"How old is he?" I asked, conversationally.

"Oh, he'll be turning 58 this winter." Gloin nodded. Silence fell with the rain and clung to me like mist.

"58?" I sputtered, after a moment.

"Aye." Gloin nodded.

"But… but…" I continued to stammer. How was 58 'but a lad'?

"Speaking of which, how old are you lass?"

"21…" I managed to get out. Fili roared. "Hey! I'm being serious here!"

"There's no way you're 21." The blonde continued to chuckle, clutching his side in pain.

"Why not?" I demanded.

"Because you'd have to still be barely a toddler. And though, I will admit, you do _act_ like a child. You certainly don't look like one."

"I can't tell whether that was an insult of a compliment, but remind me to sock you for it once we stop for camp." I growled.

"I'll make sure to conveniently forget."

"Jerk."

* * *

**So M's trying to be a bit friendlier. We'll see how it goes.**

**Please don't forget to review! **


	12. Chapter 12: Being nice is Hard

"We'll camp here for the night." Ah, music to my ears! "Fili, Kili, look after the ponies. Make sure you stay with them."

"Gee, with a warning like that, how can they _not_ stay with them?" I whispered sarcastically to Miley.

"Murphy's law." The crimson haired girl winked back.

"So when do we go and bust them for not watching their post?" I asked, making sure the dwarves didn't hear.

"Eh, wait till after dinner." Miley shrugged. "I'm starving." I nodded.

"Make sure the pig doesn't eat it all!" Kili called over his shoulder as he lead two of the ponies into the woods after his brother. I snorted loudly, unable stifle my laugh.

"Poor Bombur. That was rude." I continued to snicker. Miley stared at me for a moment before replying.

"You do realize he was referring to you, right?" I stared at her blankly for a moment.

"I am so going to kill him." My matted brown hair flipped over my shoulder as I moved to go share a piece of my mind with that idiot of a dwarf.

"Just leave it." Rina chortled. "There's no way you would beat him in hand to hand combat anyway."

"Says who?" I scowled. I actually know a decent bit of hand to hand combat. After my booking jumping hand gotten more frequent I had wisely taken a self-defense class.

"Says me." Rina sighed, floating up a little. "Now come along and talk to Ori for me!"

"Why should I?"

"Because I can't! Please? I won't make you ask any strange questions, I promise!"

"Fine." Rina squealed with delight and quickly lead me over to the scholar who was scribbling away in a large book.

"Sit down and talk to him." The ghost instructed. I sat. Ori jumped and eyed me nervously. "Ask him how he's been."

"How have you been?" I asked, very bored.

"Uh-u-uh well… I-I've b-been-n f-fine… I g-guess?" the scholar stammered. Not surprisingly I had scared him at least twice by now and my current behavior was completely unexplainable. Completely unexplainable, except for the fact that I have an invisible ghost following me around.

"Ask him what he's writing about!"

"What are you writing about?" I said in monotone, not even looking at him.

"I-I'm to account the a-adventures of t-the quest." Ori stammered back. Rina let out a squeal of delight.

"He is just so adorable!" I let out a long sigh as she reeled through the air. "Ask him what kind of girl he likes!"

"No."

"W-what?" Ori asked in confusion.

"I wasn't talking to you. Don't worry yourself."

"O-oh…"

"Come on! You have to ask him! Please, for me?" Rina pleaded.

"Nice talking to you. Sorry about the weirdness." I sighed and stood with a huff, walking away as Rina continued to wail in my ear.

"Meany! You're so mean! Why'd I have to get stuck to a meany like you? I wish you could see me at all! This is why you don't have any friends! Because you're mean!"

"WILL YOU SHUT UP?" And surprisingly, she did. And so did everyone else. Oh shoot.

"Sorry lass…" Bofur stammered, finally breaking the silence. "We didn't mean to be getting so loud…"

"N-No…" I shook my head. "I-I…" Oh snap. Oh snap. Oh snap. "I was talking to this stupid ghost that's been following me around!" … Wait…. What?

Silence fell again.

"A ghost?" Miley frowned.

"Y-y…. yeah." I sighed pointing up to Rina who was floating over my head. Everyone looked up to where I was pointing. Rina blushed strongly.

"I don't see anything." Bofur shook his head.

"I didn't expect you to."

"She's clearly insane." I heard Thorin growl to Dwalin.

"She is not insane." Miley turned on him.

"So what if I am?" I snapped. "It's not like you're going to leave me behind. I might tell someone about your precious little 'quest'." Thorin glared daggers at me. "Just chill out." I strode over to Bilbo and took one of the bowls from his hands. "Come on little hobbit dude. Let's go feed some hungry dwarves." I did not wait for Bilbo to follow as I took off towards where Fili and his brother had lead the ponies. However, I did not see any dwarves. I searched further fruitlessly, until, at last, I heard voices.

"Well, do you think she could be your, you know…" Fili's voice?

"But it's Miley… I'm sure of it." Talking about Miley? Interesting.

"How can you be sure?" Seems like a deep conversation.

"But… it has to be…"

"What has to be?" The two brothers jumped significantly as I appeared behind them, Bilbo following not too far behind. The brothers said nothing. I stared closely at both of them. Kili seemed to pale considerably, Fili was just smirking.

"Nothing." The brunette said at last.

"… Suuuuure." I shrugged handing Bilbo the second bowl and walking over to the ponies again. "You guys are really bad at watching over ponies."

"What do you mean?" Fili asked in annoyance. The two brothers walked over, Bilbo trailing slowly behind. "Oh."

"What's the matter?" Bilbo asked, coming in between the two brothers.

"We had sixteen." Kili swallowed.

"Now there's…"

"Fourteen." I finished for Fili. "Way to go bozos."

"This is entirely your fault." Kili hissed as he stomped past me.

"_My_ fault? How the-"

"Quiet!" Fili shushed me, slowly approaching an uprooted tree.

"Well that" Bilbo pointed at the tree. "Is not good at all. Shouldn't we tell Thorin?"

"Uhh, no." Fili shook his head "Let's not worry him."

"Daisy and Bungo are missing." Rina said from above me. I frowned, looking at the ponies.

"As our official burglar," the blonde dwarf continued. "We thought you might like to look into it." I shot a glare at Fili. What was he up to?

"Well, uh…" Bilbo stammered. "Looks like something… big… uprooted these trees."

"That was our thinking." Kili agreed seriously. It was the same tone he had used while talking about the orcs a few nights ago.

"Something very big, and possibly quite dangerous…"

"Hey!" Fili whispered urgently. "There's a light. Over here! Stay down." The two brothers and Bilbo crouched down behind a log. I just snorted and strode past them.

"There's trolls over there." Rina informed me, floating slightly ahead.

"How many, and how big?" I asked quietly, unfazed. In the back of my mind, I was vaguely aware of someone calling.

"Three. Slightly shorter than the trees nearby." I stopped in my tracks.

"That's… big."

"Normal sized for mountain trolls actually." The ghost shrugged. Suddenly, my arm was grabbed.

"Where do you think you're going?" Kili hissed. Immediately, I spun around, yanked my arm out of his grasp, and stumbled back a few steps.

"_Don't _touch me." The words spit out of my mouth before I knew what I was saying. "Don't you _ever_ touch me." So much for trying to get along. I hadn't meant to snap. It's just… Being grabbed from behind so roughly… set off some bad memories.

I didn't miss the surprisingly hurt look no Kili's face as he took a step away from me. My heart did this little painful jump type thing and I was forced to look away. So instead, I turned back towards the light up ahead.

"He's got Myrtle and Minty!" Bilbo hissed as he and Fili hid a ways up. I was confused for a moment before I saw a huge hulking gray mound of moving muscle stomp past, a pony tucked under each arm. "I think their going to eat them, we have to do something!" I was about to walk up, but Kili walked faster, his shoulders squared unusually straight.

"Yes, you should." I nodded to Bilbo, giving him very innocent looking eyes. "Mountain trolls are slow and stupid, and you're so small." Bilbo shook his head in protest. "They'll never see you." Kili persisted, ignoring Bilbo's objections. "It's perfectly safe! We'll be right behind you." He shoved the hobbit towards his brother.

"If you get into trouble," Fili told Bilbo "hoot twice like a brown owl, once like a barn owl." With that he gently shoved Bilbo towards the light and hurried off, motioning for me to follow. When I didn't, Fili grew exasperated.

"What are you doing?" Rina asked in confusion.

"Leave her." Kili whispered to his brother. "If she wants to throw herself into danger, that's her problem." He still gave me a hard glare, but hurried off anyway, not sparing a second glance. Fili followed a moment later.

"Where'd they go?" Bilbo asked in confusion, having finally turned back around.

"To stuff their faces." I made a face, noticing they had taken the bowls of soup. "Come on Hobbit dude, we're on our own." I started to creep past him towards the fire. Bilbo followed tentatively.

"You don't happen to know how to hoot like an owl, do you?" Bilbo whispered from behind me.

"Nope." I replied, not stopping.

"Neither do I."

* * *

**Well, this should be interesting.**

**Please review!**


	13. Chapter 13: Out of a troll hand, into t-

The trolls were huge. They were large, gray, and stank like the high heavens. And just generally gross. The ground was littered with old bones and bits of things that were definitely once alive. They were also conversing rather loudly about eating ponies and sheep and farmers and all sorts of things related to eating. Their noise made it surprisingly easy to sneak past them to the crude pen that held our ponies.

Bilbo pulled on the ropes for a moment before looking at me helplessly. I too tried, even Rina tried, though I think she was just bored because she started cracking herself up. I shot the ghost a angry look before tapping Bilbo on the shoulder and pointing to a knife I had spotted in the one trolls belt. Though I'm pretty sure he spotted it at the same time as me.

"How come e'es the cook?" one of the trolls complained loudly. "Everything tastes the same! Everything tastes like chicken."

"Except the chicken." Commented the other.

"Which tastes like fish!" the first nodded. I tried hard not to laugh, despite the situation. I reminded me of Thanksgiving dinner with my relatives. The trolls were just like hungry relatives. Only bigger.

… We were in so much danger right now.

"I'm just saying a little appreciation would be nice!" the third snarled back. "'Thank you very much Bert' 'Lovely stew Bert' how hard is that? Hmm… it just needs a sprinkle of squirrel dung." Okay… so my hungry relatives without any manners or sanitation. "Oi! That's _my_ grog!" the cook snapped, hitting the other and sending him almost squishing me.

The good news is: he didn't squish me.

The bad news is: he saw me instead.

"Ooh! What's this?" before I could do a thing, the troll grabbed me by the leg and brought me up to dangle before his face. I was very thankful I was wearing pants under my dress.

"What is it?" the largest asked.

"I don't know…" the one holding me stared. Great. Being manhandled. Again. Not this time. I swung myself up and grabbed hold of his hand. Wishing I had a nose plug, I pulled my head and bit him hard on the finger. The troll gave out a yelp and dropped me. But the others immediately surrounded me.

"It's got a bit of spirit in it this one!" the large troll with a knife grinned. I looked around frantically for Bilbo. "What are you then? An oversized squirrel?"

"What? Oh I'm a…" I stared blankly for a moment, unsure of what to say.

"An A?" the troll frowned. My hungry relatives without any manners or sanitation and even less intelligence(I didn't know that was even possible).

"Can we cook 'er?" the cook troll asked excitedly.

"We can try!" A massive hand swiped towards me and I quickly dodged, running through a pair of legs to the other side.

"Ooh! Here's another one!" I froze. Big mistake. I was quickly snatched up by the hair and was dangled in the air once again. Bilbo hung next to me.

"Damn it Bilbo!" I hissed. "You should have run!" The hobbit just hyperventilated.

"Now…" the troll looked at us. "Are there any more of you little fellas hiding where you shouldn't?"

"Nope." Bilbo replied immediately. I chose to let him handle this one. My hair felt like it was being pulled out of my scalp.

"He's lying." One of the trolls sneered.

"No I'm not!"

"Hold their toes over the fire! Make em squeal!" the one holding Bilbo grinned before letting out a loud screech and dropping Bilbo to the ground. The hobbit quickly scrambled to his feet to hide behind… Kili?

"Drop her!" he shouted.

"You what?" the one holding me asked. Why did it have to be Kili?

"I said…" Kili twirled his sword. "Drop her." The trolls looked at each other and shrugged before lobbing me straight at the dwarf. I could do nothing but fly threw the air straight into him. Thankfully, he had been smart enough to drop his sword. But now the trolls would just grab all three of us. Idiot.

Then the battle cries sounded. I looked up to see the rest of the dwarves and Miley surge through the clearing, attacking the trolls anyway they could. Miley seemed to have borrowed an extra weapon, though she didn't seem very effective with it.

"Get off!" Kili grunted. I quickly rolled off, not realizing that he had been under me. Now _I_ felt like the idiot. "You must weigh more than an Oliphant!" No idea what an Oliphant is, but it sounded pretty close to Elephant. The jump wasn't hard.

"Excuse me?" I snapped, standing to my feet and Kili did the same, grabbing his sword from the ground. "I didn't _ask_ for your help, just so you know. I had things perfectly under control!" the brunette just rolled his eyes.

"Kili!" Thorin's voice rang out. The dwarf turned back to the battle.

"Just stay out of the way." He snapped before rushing into the fray. He wanted me to stay out of the way? Fine. Fine, I'll stay out of the way. I turned in a huff, climbed a nearby tree and watched the fight. I didn't do a thing. Even when Bilbo got grabbed. Even when the dwarves surrendered. Even when they were all stuffed in sacks or tied to a spit.

"Don't bother cooking em." One of the trolls grumbled. "Let's just sit on em one by one and squash em into jelly!" Rina coughed next to me.

"Naw, they should be sautéed. With a sprinkle of sage." I snorted. These guys were classic.

"Are you going to help or not?" Rina hissed.

"That does sound quite nice." The third nodded.

"Never mind the seasoning; we ain't got all night!"

"M, Please!"

"Dawn ain't far away, so let's get a move on! I don't fancy being turned to stone!" Bingo.

"Hold it one moment!" my voice rang across the clearing. All heads turned towards my perch in the tree, even Bilbo who was just about to open his mouth and say something.

"It's the A!" one of the trolls recognized. I took a deep breath. My plan was most likely going to get me killed. But it was all eyes on me. Center stage. In the spotlight. Might as well give em a show worth remembering.

"Yes. It is I. The A." I stood slowly on my branch, trying to channel as much majesty as I could. It must have worked, because everyone was completely silent. "And I have come to say… CURSES UPON YOU!" I shouted loudly, making all the dwarves jump and the trolls cringe. "You DARE to touch I! The mighty A herself? Fools! Those who touch the might A will be severely punished! These dwarves are filled with a deadly poison! If you eat them, you will surely die!"

"Wait a minute." The largest troll stopped cowering. "If they were meant to punish us, then why are you telling us about them?" Drat.

"Because I have decided to spare you this once!" I boomed, thinking quick on my feet. "Let the dwarves go and all will be forgotten!"

"Why should we bother letting em all go?" another troll asked.

"Because that is my order!" I turned to him. "I am the mighty A!"

"I've never actually heard of an A before." He snorted. Oh fiddlesticks…

"I bet she's lying!"

"Wait!" Bilbo's voice sounded out. Oh no. "You are making a terrible mistake!" the trolls turned on him now.

"You've heard of an A before?" one demanded. Bilbo looked at the troll for a moment, then at me, then back at the troll.

"Well… no. But I wasn't talking about that. I meant with the seasoning."

"Who cares?" the largest troll shouted, but the cook troll hit him over the head with his ladle before moving really close to Bilbo.

"What about the seasoning?"

"Well, have you smelt them?" the hobbit asked. "You're going to need something a lot stronger than sage before you plate this lot up!" Oh that little genius! I could kiss him! The dwarves however, seemed to think differently.

"What do you know about cooking dwarf?" the largest growled.

"The little man has a point!" I spoke again. "Dwarves only taste good after being thoroughly covered in…" my mind pulled a blank again.

"Bird dung!" Bilbo covered for me. Genius little hobbit. The dwarves screamed angrily.

"Bird dung?" The cook frowned.

"But that's not all!" Bilbo cried in alarm, sensing his authority slipping. "No, the true secret to cooking dwarf is…" his words dropped off and he looked at the ground, for a moment thinking 'why on earth am I trying to come up with the secret to cooking dwarf?'.

"Yes, come on." The troll prodded impatiently.

"It's uh…"

"Tell us the secret!"

"Yes I'm _telling _you." Bilbo stressed. "The secret is toooooo…" he glanced over at me.

"Skin them first!" I shouted immediately. A huge grin broke onto my face. I had finally thought of something! The roar of the dwarves was horribly loud.

"If I get you, you little-" Gloin shouted at Bilbo and I.

"I won't forget that!" Dwalin pointed at me threateningly.

"What a load of rubbish!" one of the trolls shouted. "I like em better with their skins on! Scuff em, I say. Boots and all!"

"E's right!" a troll stomped over to the pile. "Nothing wrong with a bit of raw dwarf!" He snagged Bombur, dangling the large dwarf over his mouth. "Nice and crunchy!"

"Not-not that one! He's infected!" Bilbo yelled. Everyone paused and looked at him.

"You what?" the large troll asked.

"Yeah, he's got worms in his…" Bilbo dragged off.

"Tubes." Rina whispered.

"Tubes." I supplied, sitting back down on the branch. The troll made a squealing noise and dropped Bombur back on the pile. "In fact, they all have." I nodded. "They're all _infested_ with parasites."

"It's a terrible business." Bilbo agreed. "I wouldn't risk it. I really wouldn't."

"Parasites?" Oin hollered. "Did they say parasites?"

"We don't have parasites!" Kili shouted, glaring straight at me. "_You_ have parasites!" Real mature there Kili. Real mature.

"What are you talking about laddie?" Gloin asked in confusion. Etc. Etc. Thorin kicked someone and everyone fell silent. I coughed loudly.

"I've… got parasites as big as my arm." Oin said innocently.

"Mine are the biggest parasites! I've got huge parasites!"

"We're riddled."

"Yes I'm riddled."

"Yes we are. Badly." Bilbo nodded approvingly before turning back to the trolls.

"What would you have us do?" the largest troll asked. "Let em all go?"

"Well…" Bilbo nodded.

"You think I don't know what you're up to? This little ferret is taking us for fools!"

"Ferret?"

"Fools?"

"I'd listen to him if I were you." I shrugged. "Going around eaten riddled, poisoned dwarves can't be a good-" my words were cut short as the large troll snatched me off a branch. The air was crushed quickly from my lungs as the troll held me to his face.

"And I've had enough of _you_. A or not!" I would have replied, but breathing was rather difficult at the moment.

"Let her go!" Someone shouted. I was too close to passing out to figure out who.

"Oh, I'll let her go alright." The troll hissed. "Right into the fire!" And he dropped me. As I was falling, I heard a familiar voice cry out.

"Dawn take you all!"

"Who's that?"

"No idea."

"Can we eat him too?"

And I fell into the fire.

* * *

**I had so much trouble with this scene. The trolls danger is all in their size. Their lines are comically mundane. So I decided to have them actually do more than crush someone's ribs. Tried, anyway.**

**Please review so I know people are actually reading this!**


	14. Chapter 14: Burns and a troll horde

Hot. Hot. Hot. Hot. Hot. Hot!

I quickly rolled out of the campfire, but it seemed to be following me, or something. Oh shoot. I was on burning.

… I was burning! What was I supposed to do again? Crap. Right! Stop, drop and roll. Stop and drop… already on the ground. And roll. I rolled around frantically until the sight of flames disappeared. I still felt like I was burning though. I didn't get up immediately. Panting, I lay motionless in the dirt, vaguely aware to morning light pouring into the clearing. There were also sounds of cheering. They better not be cheering about me falling in the fire. Wait… daylight. That means the trolls were stone! Good.

Rina hovered over top of me asking if I was all right. I wearily tried to sit up, but soon found out that _that_ wasn't going to work.

"Hey, help me up, will you?" I asked the nearest dwarf. Drat. Of course it had to be Kili. Whatever, I was too tired to care super much. Kili narrowed his eyes at me before turning away. I scowled. "Rudeness."

"You were the one who told me not to touch you." The dwarf spat before stomping off to go check on Miley. I could only stare after him in shock.

"That… that… Jerk!" I all but shouted. Several dwarves turned to me in surprise. I stood angrily, but a wave of pain caused me to stumble forwards. Thankfully, Dori caught me before I face planted into the ground. "Thanks." I mumbled.

"No, I should be thanking you." The old dwarf shook his head. "That was very brave of you lass, going up against the trolls like that."

"Oh… well, thank you?" I stared at him in shock. One of the dwarves had just… thanked me. Wow.

"Aye lassie." Gloin nodded, coming up as well. "That was very courageous."

"Selfless." Bofur nodded from nearby as he pulled on a boot.

"Alright, alright." Oin waved them away. "Yes, I think she gets the point. Very heroic. Now hustle off so I can take a look at those wounds." Wounds? I looked down and grimaced. I was covered in burns, and my clothes were nothing but ash in several places. At least I was still modest… kind of. Stupid trolls. "Those are some nasty burns there alright. Once we get back to camp, I'll put some salve on it."

"_Oin_tment." Rina snickered.

"I can put it on myself." I said stiffly. Oin looked at me for a moment before nodding and walking back in the direction of camp. Ori followed behind.

_"Will you stop groaning?" Fili snapped at his younger brother. "Miley, tell him to stop. He won't listen to me." I laughed as the three of us followed some others in search of a troll cave._

_"But I hurt all over!" Kili complained._

_"How?" I laughed. "All you did was get stuck in a sack."_

_"I did do a decent bit of fighting as well, you know." The dwarf sulked._

_"Aw, poor wee lad!" Fili mocked, "can't handle a bit of fighting."_

_"Idiots." Kili snorted, stomping ahead. Fili and I broke into cackles behind him. We did not stop till Fili cleared his throat and sobered up a bit. I quickly followed suit._

_"So…" he started._

_"So." I replied, looking at him expectantly._

_"I know this really isn't my place to ask…" the blonde started. "But he is my brother."_

_"Uh oh." I frowned. "This sounds serious."_

_"What exactly are your… intentions?" he looked at me nervously. I stared back blankly for a moment._

_"About what?" I found myself asking._

_"About your relationship, with my brother." Fili explained. …What?_

_"I'm not sure what you mean…" I said hesitantly. "I don't think we're anything more than friends, that's what I intended anyway. Does it… seem otherwise?" Fili sighed and looked at me for a moment before replying._

_"As I thought." The dwarf nodded. "You aren't his One." I frowned._

_"No, I don't think so. He's not really my type. No offense, he's a great person!" I said quickly._

_"No, that's fine!" Fili shook his head. "But, I'm not sure… no, I'm confident that Kili does not see it the same way."_

_"Oh." Was all I could get out. I did feel like he was very open very quickly. But some people are just like that. M… "Oh."_

_"Yeah." Fili sighed. "I don't mean to tell you what to do, but perhaps… you should make it clear to him."_

_"Yes." I nodded "Yes, that's a good idea." Fili nodded and clapped me on the shoulder reassuringly. I gave him a thin smile before he removed his hand and turned once more towards the cave. Dwarves were already coming out of it._

_"Well, there goes our chance to see a real live troll hoard." Fili sighed. I sighed as well. I had been looking forward to that. Maybe get myself an elvish blade in the process. But next should be Rivendell. That will be pleasant. I glanced over to see Gandalf giving Bilbo a blade. Sting. Or sometime in the future, it will be called that. A smile slipped onto my face._

_"Something's coming!" Thorin shouted. I looked up in alarm. What? What was coming?_

_"Stay together! Hurry now. Arm yourselves." Gandalf shouted, rushing towards the source. I hurried over. The company crowded together, bristling with weapons as something came snapping towards us._

_"Thieves! Fire! MURDER!" something burst in front of us. I stared for a moment, then tilted my head to one side. Was that… a rabbit pulled sleigh? I didn't remember anything like that in the book. Riding the sleigh was an odd kind of fellow with an odd-looking beard and… bird dung down the side of his face._

_"Radagast!" Gandalf pushed through the dwarves. "Radagast the Brown!" I stared incredulously at the wizard. Radagast? But Radagast wasn't ever in the hobbit! "What on earth are you doing here?" the gray wizard inquired._

_"I was looking for you, Gandalf. Something's wrong. Something's terribly wrong…"_

_"Yes?" Gandalf prompted the frazzled looking wizard. Radagast opened his mouth to speak._

_Then closed it._

_Then opened it._

_Then closed it again._

_"Oh, just give me a minute. Um, oh, I had a thought, and now I've lost it! It was right there. On the tip of my tongue!" Radagast huh? Rather unimpressive for a Maiar. "Oh! It's not a thought at all! It's a silly old…" Gandalf reached a tentative finger into the other wizard's mouth and pulled out a spindly writhing thing. "Stick insect!" Ewwww. Thankfully, Gandalf lead Radagast off to talk privately. And, although I wanted to know what it was about, I decided to give the old wizards some privacy, since they clearly wanted it. Instead, I went to go talk to Kili. Sooner rather than later is probably best._

_"What is WRONG with you?" uh oh. I quickened my pace towards the sound._

_"What's wrong with me? YOU'RE the one who keeps going spastic for no reason!" I rushed in to see Kili and M mere centimeters away from each other, though clearly both keeping their distance. Both had their arms crossed over their chests and they seemed to be panting and flushed with anger. Though it was hard to tell through M's salve covered burns._

_"I'm not being spastic you jerk!" M shouted. Almost at the top of her lungs. _

_"So what? You're saying I'M the one with the problem?" Kili snapped back, just as loud. "You're the one who talks to ghosts!"_

_"Well soooorry! It's not like I can do anything about it!" M hissed sarcastically. "You know what? I'm done with this!" she turned on her heel, snorting in annoyance._

_"Well I'm not!" Kili shouted back, grabbing her arm to turn her back around. _

_"DON'T. TOUCH. ME." _

_I watched helplessly as M spun around, ripping her arm out of Kili's grasp. She glared at him with a look that was pure hatred. Her just heaved and every muscle in her body was tense. Kili didn't look much better. _

_After a few penetrating moments, Kili took a step back._

_"Fine." He said at last, his voice completely neutral. Then he turned, and walked off. I watched him go before turning back to M. Maybe now wasn't the best time to talk after all. But this fight seemed bad. Really bad. I always new the two didn't like each other, but…_

_"What was that about M?" I asked, walking up to her._

_"Who cares." M snapped back. _

_"I do. I'd be surprised if anyone in the company _didn't_ hear that." She looked at me for a moment. I was surprised to find tears brimming in the corners of her eyes._

_"Just leave it. There's nothing you could do about it anyway." I moved to go after her when a howling sound echoed through the trees._

_"Was that a wolf?" Bilbo asked nervously. "Are there wolves out here?"_

_"Wolves?" Bofur echoed. "No, that was no wolf." My blood ran cold as I spotted the canine silhouette on the incline above us. The dwarves quickly dispatched it as another came bounding in. Kili just managed to shoot it before Dwalin finished it off. _

_"Warg scouts." Thorin spat. "Which means an orc pack is not far behind."_

_"Orc pack?" Bilbo and I said at the same time. What on earth was going on? There were no orc packs between the trolls and Rivendell!_

_"Who did you tell of your quest? Beyond your kin." Gandalf asked Thorin urgently. The dwarf glanced over at M and I. I just shrugged and shook my head._

_"No one." Thorin said after a moment._

_"Who did you tell?" Gandalf barked._

_"No one I swear!" Thorin turned towards me. "What in Durin's name is going on here?"_

_"I don't know!" I replied defensively. "I did not hear of your quest from others, I swear to you." Thorin looked at Gandalf questioningly._

_"You are being hunted." The wizard replied._

_"We have to get out of here." Dwalin growled._

_"We can't!" All heads turned to Ori who had just arrived. "We have no ponies! They bolted."_

_"Perfect." M grumbled from beside me. I grabbed her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. _

_"I'll draw them off!" Radagast said. I looked at him, having quite forgotten that he was there._

_"These are Gundabad wargs." Gandalf huffed. "They will outrun you!"_

_"These are Rhosgobel Rabbits." Radagast retorted immediately. Everyone looked at him curiously. "I'd like to see them try."_

* * *

**Well, That was a more eventful chapter in my opinion. **

**Please share your thoughts! Let me know that there are people reading this.**


	15. Chapter 15: Running YAY!

For once, I was thankful to be running for my life. I was running, my heart pounding, and blood roaring in my ears, my qualms forgotten. Too bad we had to keep stopping. I heard someone's voice, probably Gandalf, telling us to stick together. Screw it. They were too slow. Then Miley flattened me against the rock, the sound of a warg snarling above us. Thorin nodded to Kili about something. I held back a snort. Like an arrow was going stop a warg and rider. The brunette dwarf sprung from the wall as I dashed up the rock past the warg, the dwarven arrow flying past me to hit the orc.

"M!" I heard someone shout as the warg snapped after me. And I was off in the races. I couldn't help but let out a breathy laugh as my legs thundered along the grassy ground. But my laughter died as the sounds of more wargs came snarling after me. Hopefully the others were taking a chance and making a break for it. I just kept running and running, the wind cutting around me as I bounded through the grasses.

Something knocked into my side. I went tumbling down a large hill, a foul breathed canine following closely. I scrambled to my feet as soon as I reached flat ground again and took off through sparse pines. I let out another laugh as a warg went sliding pass me, unable to stop it's momentum. There was something incredibly awesome about risking your life like this.

Probably why I didn't last very long in most books.

Then I barreled into something.

"M?" I looked down to see Fili.

"Hey." I replied. "Funny seeing you here." The warg sailed over our heads and slid over the ground. We both scrambled to our feet.

"Where on earth have you been?" Miley shouted from somewhere around.

"Missed you too!" I grinned back.

_I scowled back at my friend. Why was she so reckless? Either cranky or reckless. Why can't she just follow along with everyone else?_

_"There's more coming!" Kili shouted from the other direction. I looked over at the archer. Wargs weren't to far behind him. Great. Just great._

_"Kili! Shoot them!" Thorin ordered._

_"We're surrounded!" Fili said, pulling one of his twin blades out of a now dead orc before following M towards the rest of the group._

_"Where's Gandalf?" Kili shouted, sounding rather stressed._

_"He's abandoned us!" Dwalin cursed._

_"Hold your ground!" Thorin commanded, sensing the dwarves dropping spirits. Come on wizard? Where are you?_

_"This way you fools!" I turned in joy. Gandalf immerged from the rocks to disappear once more into them. The hidden pass! It must be! I followed the dwarves as they funneled into the opening. _

_"Kili! Run!" Thorin commanded, stopping at the entrance. I stopped, looking over my shoulder to see the archer still picking off orcs. "Kili!"_

_"I'll get him." Someone sighed. I watched in surprise as M dashed past me._

That stupid dwarf was going to go get himself killed and upset Miley. I gritted my teeth. Idiot. I dashed past him, grabbing an arrow from his quiver.

"What are you doing?" Kili shouted behind me, firing another arrow.

"Covering for you!" I snapped back. "Now run!"

"Don't be an idiot!" He barked, firing another arrow.

"You MORON!" I shouted. "I guess you really are a drama queen! Trying to risk your life needlessly." I could hear him curse something in dwarven under his breath before turning and sprinting towards the opening. I turned to follow, but a warg chose that moment to pounce. I was knocked to the ground, air rushing from my lunges. I swiveled around on the ground and stabbed the arrow into the creature's neck. Pressure point. The creature jumped back in pain and I scrambled to my feet.

"M!"

_I shouted in warning, but it was too late. A second warg had snuck up from behind and buried its fangs deep into the girl's shoulder. My eyes widened in horror. Even more so when Kili cried out next to me as well. I turned to see him clutch his shoulder in pain. The same shoulder that M had just gotten bit. Thorin seemed to hear it and go into protection mode. He shoved Kili and I into the incline before following himself. I tumbled down the cliff to be caught by dwarves. I shot up in alarm. M was still up there! I tried to rush back up, but Dwalin held me back._

_"Are you alright?" Fili asked his brother who was still clutching his shoulder. The blonde moved his brother's arm. "It looks fine…" Oin came over as well, reporting that it wasn't injured._

_"M is still up there!" I shouted. "We have to help her!"_

_"We cannot risk any of our lives." Thorin shook his head._

_"Than let _me_ go up!" I looked at him desperately. "Please…" But the sound of elven horns sounded. The elves of Rivendell! They would save her! I began to relax slightly. Kili cried out again, this time clutching his leg._

_"What's wrong with him?" Bofur asked in alarm. Oin just shook his head in confusion. An orc dropped through the opening, coming to lay motionless at our feet. Thorin grabbed an arrow from its chest and examined it._

_"Elves." He spat, tossing the arrow aside._

_"I cannot see where the pathway leads!" Dwalin said from the other side of the cavern. "Do we follow it or no?"_

_"Follow it of course!" Bofur said, helping Kili to his feet. The archer was still gritting his teeth in pain. Fili followed behind closely._

_"I think that would be wise." Gandalf nodded. I looked back once more at the opening. It was silent. Balin clapped me on the shoulder before pushing me after the others. The elves would help her. It would be fine._

_We walked for a long time through the narrow stone pathway. Kili had continued to cry out in pain for a while. Then, all at once, it stopped. And upon inquiry, he said that the pain was dulling every step he took._

_At last, we came out into the open air and my breath left me. _

_"I must be dreaming." I breathed quietly. I was really here. Rivendell. It was even more magnificent than I had thought. Even in Jackson's movie of The Lord of the Rings, it was nothing compared to seeing it with my own two eyes. There was no soundtrack playing in the background, just the cascade of waterfalls. It was even better that way._

_"This was your plan all along," Thorin stomped over to the wizard. "To seek refuge with our enemy."_

_"You have no enemies here Thorin Oakenshield." Gandalf snapped back. "The only ill will to be found in this valley is that which you bring yourself!"_

_"You think the elves will give our quest their blessing? They will try to stop us."_

_"Obviously." I couldn't help but comment. "But when has that stopped you before?"_

_"Besides," Gandalf agreed. "We have questions that need to be answered. If we are to be successful, this will need to be handled with tact," very true. "and respect," even more true. "and no small degree of charm." Also tru- wait… "Which is why you will leave the talking to me." I shot a bemused glance over at the wizard who gave me a good-natured wink. I chuckled slightly before following down the stairs to Rivendell._

_The elven halls were even more beautiful as we drew closer. But Bilbo was the only one who seemed to share my fascination. We crossed over a large bridge, coming to stop in a front porch like area. _

_"Mithrandir." I looked up to see a tall fair man with pointed ears and long straight hair come down a set of stairs toward us. I grinned broadly. Elves._

_"Ah, Lindir!" Gandalf smiled back, greeting the elf. They began talking in elvish. I was able to pick out a few words like 'heard' and 'valley'._

_"I must speak with Lord Elrond." Gandalf said._

_"My lord Elrond is not here." Lindir replied. Not here?_

_"Not here? Where is he?" Gandalf echoed my thoughts. The sound of elvish horns sounded and everyone turned to see a long stream of horses on elves galloping toward us. Ah! The ones who saved us from the orcs most likely._

_"Ifridî bekâr! Close ranks!" Thorin shouted. The dwarves closed around Bilbo and I, but I had no trouble looking over them. I peered closely at each horse as it came past us. But my worry grew more and more as I failed to see a little brown female among them. The last horse trotted around us. No M. My stomach dropped._

_"Gandalf!" An elf said._

_"Lord Elrond!" 'My friend' umm… 'where' _

_Elrond replied. 'hunting' 'orcs' I think. 'South'… 'Hidden Pass.' Elrond then dismounted and hugged Gandalf. "Strange for Orcs to come so close to our borders. Something, or someone, has drawn them near."_

_"Ah, that may have been us." The wizard smiled. _

_"Welcome Thorin, son of Thrain." The elf lord greeted._

_"I do not believe we have met." Thorin said abrasively. _

_"You have your grandfather's bearing." Lord Elrond explained. "I knew Thror when he ruled under the mountain."_

_"Indeed?" Thorin seemed unimpressed. "He made no mention of you." Elrond stared at Thorin for a moment, before speaking in elvish. _

_'Fires' I'm pretty sure. 'bring forth the wine' I had memorized that to say in case I ever went to a wedding. 'feed' 'guests' _

_"What is he saying?" Gloin growled. "Does he offer us insult?"_

_"No master Gloin, he's offering you food." Gandalf smiled. _

_"Ah…" the dwarves huddled tightly. "In that case, lead on!"_

_"Wait!" I spoke up finally. Lord Elrond turned to me, one eyebrow raised. "I'm sorry, but among the orcs you slew. You did not happen to come across a dwarf sized human by any chance?" the elf regarded me for a moment before answering._

_"I am sorry to say, we only found orcs." Lord Elrond frowned, letting out a regretful sigh. "We piled all the bodies and burned them. There were none left alive."_

_No… _

_"There must be some mistake!" But it was not my voice. It was Kili's. Thorin looked at his nephew in surprise._

_"I wish that were so." Lord Elrond frowned. Silence hung over the group. "Please, come eat." He led us into Rivendell. It was even more spectacular inside. But I found myself unable to enjoy it. I knew it should be no big deal. Even if she died, I'd just be seeing her again once the book was over back in our world. It was not as if she was gone forever. But still… I felt like she had been taken. She may be back, but in this story she was d-_

_"This way my lady." An elven maiden interrupted my thoughts, leading me away from the others. I followed without hesitation. She lead me too a bath and supplied me with a fresh change of clothes. A beautiful silk dress. But it didn't seem as though it mattered any more. M was gone…_

_I rejoined the others at the dining table. They seemed more or less normal for dwarves. Being rowdy and complaining needlessly. How could they be so cheery? The only one who seemed to care was Kili, oddly enough. And Fili by association. I was given a seat with Gandalf, Thorin, and Lord Elrond. I tried very hard to put my worries aside and focus on the historic moment in front of me. Lord Elrond examining the swords. _

_"This is Orcrist, the Goblin Cleaver." He looked at Thorin's sword. "A famous blade, forged by the High Elves of the West, my kin." He handed the sword back. "May it serve you well." Then he took Gandalf's sword. "And this, is Glamdring. The Foe Hammer. Sword of the king of Gondolin. These swords were made for the goblin wars of the first age…" my thoughts wandered elsewhere. M couldn't be dead. She just… she couldn't. Could she? I excused myself from the table and walked out. _

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**Haha, soooo... yeah. ^-^**

**Please review!**


	16. Chapter 16: When all seemed dark

_I wandered about Rivendell aimlessly for a long time before finding myself back at the front where we had come in. The sun was shining almost horizontal now, casting an orange glow to everything. I looked out at the bridge. Maybe… I could go search for her? I walked to the top of the stairs to find someone already there. _

_Sitting on the top step was Kili. He was staring unblinking out at the bridge. I sat down next to him. For a moment we sat in silence, both looking out over the surroundings. Searching… Probably for the same thing. _

_"I said such horrid things to her." I looked in surprise at Kili. The dwarf seemed weary and tense. "Why did we have to fight?" I opened my mouth to respond, but shut it again, turning away. "Why couldn't we just get along? Mahal… If I could take back those words. If I could just apologize. Just see her once again…" My heart throbbed painfully as I felt tears spring to my eyes. I turned to look out again, my vision blurring. She had to come back. Just come back now. Please…_

_Night fell. My tears had come and fallen and dried. There was no sign of anything._

_"It's too dark to see anything." I croaked at last. "We should go get some sleep."_

_"You go." Kili said, not looking at me. "I'll be along in a bit." Hesitantly, I nodded and walked off to the rest of the company. Most of them were already asleep. I found a corner and closed my eyes. The unpleasant gray haze that I had come to call sleep over took me. My eyes opened again. Morning filtered into the room. I stretched, stood and slipped past the still sleeping dwarves. Maybe just check… one more time. _

_Kili was already there. I thought for a moment he hadn't left at all, but then I noticed that he was now just in trousers, boots, and a dingy blue shirt. His usual coat was nowhere to be seen. He must have left sometime in the night. But from the bags under his eyes, sleep had not been his friend._

_"You should get some breakfast." I told him. _

_"I'm fine." He shook his head, eyes still fixed on the bridge and the path leading to it. _

_"Kili…" I frowned. Seeing someone worry more than me, it knocked me somewhat out of my grief. "You need to eat. We all need to regain our strength before we leave."_

_"I'm not hungry." The dwarf brushed me off._

_"Now we both know that's a lie." I rolled my eyes, letting a small smile slip onto my face. "When are you not hungry?"_

_"Now." He replied. "I'm not hungry now." I frowned again._

_"Alright… but you need to eat sometime." With that, I left. _

_"Where's Kili?" Thorin asked when I walked into breakfast._

_"At the front stairs." I replied, sitting down at the table. "He says he's not hungry."_

_"Fili, go get your brother." The dwarven king sighed. Fili nodded and left quickly. I wasn't much in the mood for breakfast either, but I forced myself to have a buttered roll. Fili returned after a while. Without Kili._

_Why was he acting like this? He hated M. _

_"Lady Miley," Gandalf sat next to me. "Tonight, Lord Elrond will be examining the map, I think it would be wise if you joined us."_

_"As you wish." I nodded. Moon Runes._

_"Excellent." The wizard nodded and stood. We would not be staying long after Thorin learned what he needed. That evening before nightfall, I returned to the top of the stairs. Kili was there, like before. The golden glow once more lit up the valley._

_"… She's gone." I heard myself say. I was giving up… No, I had given up. It was pointless. She was gone. I'd be seeing her again though. Once this was all done. She'd be in the dorm like usual. Playing music way too loud and complaining about how many papers she had to write. I just wished she could have finished the story with me. It would have been nice to share it with someone. _

_Kili stood up suddenly. I looked at him in alarm. His whole body was tense as he stared out into the golden light. I peered as well. There… coming up the path. Someone. It wasn't until they had reached the other edge of the bridge could I see who it was._

_It was M._

_It wasn't easy to tell. She was covered in blood and dirt, her clothes were barely intact and her hair was matted and dried with red and black blood. One leg limped slightly and her wounded arm was hanging at her side. But she was alive. I started down the stairs, an amazing feeling rising in my chest. It was really her. M was back. She wasn't dead! I ran up towards her._

_"M! Thank God you're alright!" But she wasn't looking at me. Her hazed eyes were gazing passed me. And soon Kili brushed past quickly. I stared in shock as both of them collapsed into each other's arms. A look of bliss and relief swept over their faces as they sank to their knees on the bridge. Neither said a word. My throat ran dry. I thought they hated each other?_

My pain and weariness ebbed away as I melted into his arms. Kili. Thank god. Oh, thank god. The one thing that had kept me fighting. Fighting the wargs, the rocks, the pain. I needed to get back to him. I had to see him one last time. To apologize. To take back those words.

But there would be time for that. Now I just let my senses be overwhelmed with him. The smell of woods and earth. The warmth that surrounded me. The feeling… the emotion that seemed to pour off of him. Love.

It filled me so completely. I couldn't even feel the pain anymore. That pain that had almost killed me only hours before. Now, it was nothing. Forgotten like the wind in the grass.

Because he was here. I was here. And it felt right. Our harsh words. Our ill thought actions. All of it was nothing now. Just for now, it was forgotten completely and wholly.

I had made it back. I was safe. I didn't have to fight anymore. Gently, I let the darkness overcome me. And drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

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**Soooooo... Yeah, a little cheesy. But it will all be explained! Eventually... :\**

**Please Review! :D They really mean so much to me.**


	17. Chapter 17: The Healing House

_I walked quickly through the halls of Rivendell, practically running in my rush to find Lord Elrond. Kili followed behind me closely, M unconscious in his arms. The daylight had faded as I searched. Gandalf wanted me to join them to read the map… they're probably in Elrond's study. I directed my route straight there, thankfully finding the elf lord, as well as Gandalf, Thorin, Balin, and Bilbo. _

_"Lord Elrond!" I cried, bursting in. All heads turned to me, then to Kili as he entered behind me, then to the body in his arms. "Please, my friend in severely hurt!" Whatever struggle was being had over the map was immediately forgotten._

_"Bring her this way." Lord Elrond instructed Kili, leading us quickly to the healing houses. The one part of Rivendell I hoped I wouldn't have to be seeing. Thorin, Bilbo, and Gandalf walked behind me as I strode quickly after Kili. The dark haired dwarf laid M gently in the cushioned bed as two more elves walked swiftly in. I could only watch as they immediately began to examine my roommate's many wounds. _

_They tried to send the rest of us out, but I refused firmly, as did Kili. I could not help but shoot the archer an odd look. I was sure they hated each other._

_"Several Burns." One of the elves reported._

_"Mauling on the shoulder and leg." The other said. Another elf rushed in and started preparing a series of herbs along with Lord Elrond._

_"Feet are in poor shape too." M… what were you thinking? You may just go home when you die, but that doesn't make you invincible! One elf examined a wound on her side and frowned._

_"… Poisoned." _

_"What?" Kili growled beside me, though I think I'm the only one that heard, or the elves just chose to ignore him._

_"We need to draw out the poison first." Lord Elrond said, bringing over a bowl of steaming herbs in a type of liquid. "Hold her down." He instructed. Two elves grabbed her arms as the third grabbed both legs. All three held down tightly. It seemed unnecessary until Lord Elrond began pressing the herb into the wound. _

_A heart wrenching cry flew from M's lips as her body convulsed violently. I turned my gaze away quickly, unable to watch. Instead, I saw Kili, his face tight and he seemed to be biting his lip to keep from crying out in pain. He was biting hard enough to draw blood at least. _

_"Don't just stand there!" One of the elves snapped at us as the screams grew in intensity. I rushed forward to hold down one of the legs as the elf focused on holding down just one leg. I gritted my teeth in effort, unprepared for how hard M was thrashing around. Kili moved to her head and tried to hold down her shoulders. _

_I grimaced as fresh blood began to spurt as M's frantic movements reopened her wounds. I could barely hear Lord Elrond begin to chant a prayer over the screams. I screwed my eyes shut and set my arms firm. My task was to make sure the leg in front of me moved as little as possible. And that's what I did. I blocked everything out and focused on my job. _

_And slowly, the screams died away. The convulsions stopped. And I was ushered away once more._

The first thing I was aware of was the warmth. Then the numbness. I could barely feel anything but a dull ache throughout my body. The gray haze began to slip away. In the back of my head, I could hear birds chirping from somewhere nearby.

And at last, I felt something. Something rough, yet gentle, stroking rhythmically over my left hand. That was where I felt the most warmth. My left hand. There was another hand holding onto it. A slightly larger hand. It was a finger that belonged to that hand that was stroking me calmly. Somehow, I knew who it was, before I even opened my eyes. I gave the calloused hand the tiniest of squeezes as my eyes slowly pushed themselves open.

I watched drowsily as Kili turned to me in surprise, a smile of relief crossing his face as he breathed out slightly. It could have been mistaken for a laugh. The slightest of smiles crossed my own face.

"Why are we not fighting?" I asked. It even surprised me how weak and drained my voice sounded. The words were barely more than a whisper.

"I don't know." Kili chuckled. His deep voice was so calming. "But let's not ruin it now."

"Good idea." I agreed, feeling my eyelids already growing heavy again. Kili seemed to notice it too.

"Get some more sleep." He suggested as I felt his hand release mine, and stroke the side of my face ever so lightly. "I'll go tell someone you woke. Miley will be glad to hear it."

"Mhmm." I hummed back, already feeling sleep claim me. Just before my eyes shut, I saw Rina above me giving me the thumbs up sign. I would have laughed, but I was already asleep.

.

I felt much better rested when my eyes opened again. Fuzzy. But better.

I was also alone. Which was good actually. Because that meant I didn't have to do anything immediately. And I didn't. I just lay in the cozy, fluffy bed and brought myself up to speed.

The first thing I noticed was the lack of pain. Very good. Pain is not fun.

Then I noticed the room around me. It was beautiful. White light poured in through the windows and the birds chirped. It must have been morning. Or heaven. I always imagined heaven as being daytime. Though I didn't necessarily believe in it.

But I quickly decided I _wasn't_ in heaven as I became aware of thick white bandages wrapped over me. There was a thick mat of them around my one shoulder and wrapped around the opposite leg. There was also a decent bit of bandage around my torso and feet, and a few smaller band aid like patches in other places like the back of a hand or the cheek under my left eye.

After taking notice of all of this, I made not that I had been changed out of my burnt and tattered clothes into a loose white gown that had a very medicinal quality about it.

I was also clean. Actually clean! And my burns and the majority of the scratches and bruises were either gone or covered in bandage. There was not a spot of blood or dirt on me and, upon running a hand through it, I realized my hair was brushed and smooth.

I would have to thank whoever took on the impossible task of doing _that_. But all seemed fine, though I had no idea where I was. Except that the company was here as well. So I let my mind wander. It went immediately to Kili. I frowned as I recounted what had happened between us. At first we hated each other, and now… Not that I was complaining. Even though he was a jerk, I felt bound to him somehow. I had to talk to him about it. It was the only logical thing to do. Either that or run, and I had been doing plenty of that recently.

Moving my stiff limbs, I swung my legs over the side of the bed and pushed myself into a sitting position. My head swam for a moment before I was able to stand and stumble my way out of the room. Now to find that stupid dwarven archer.

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**Ah all seems fine and well! So peaceful!... for now :)**

**Please review if you have the time! It really is very encouraging!**


	18. Chapter 18: You're a WHAT!

**Enjoy this lighter chapter... it'll be the last one in awhile :) (I worry sometimes that I might be mentally unstable.)**

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At last, I found Kili sparring with his brother. Miley watched nearby laughing at the two. It was very peaceful. I hobbled over and sat down wearily next to Miley.

"M! You're awake!" She beamed at me. I smiled back at her.

"I don't know, this place seems like a dream to me." She laughed.

"Rivendell. It's the place I wanted to see the most."

"I don't see what's so great about it." Rina huffed. I glanced up at her in confusion. What was she so moody about?

"Hey! Welcome back to the land of the living!" Fili waved as he and Kili walked over, panting and sweating. Oh gosh. I hoped I wasn't blushing too noticeably.

"Thanks." I smiled instead. "This is much preferred to wandering about in the woods for days."

"I bet." Kili grinned, plopping down next to me. He stank like the high heavens.

"Oh, gross! Get a bath, will you?" I pinched my nose in disgust. The jerk laughed in my face.

"Not a bad idea." Fili spoke up from Miley's other side. "I think I'll go look for a fountain." He stood. "You two care to join me?" Miley and I stared at him wide eyed.

"You are seriously sick." I said, unblinking.

"What?" Fili frowned. "It's not like I asked you to bath with _Kili_."

"How is it any better?" Miley shook her head, not believing her ears. Fili stared at us in confusion for a moment before sighing.

"I cannot believe how blind you are." He rolled his eyes and started pulling his shirt off.

"NO! Nononononono this is so wrong!" I screamed looking away quickly. Miley did similar complaints next to me as Kili started laughing. "What did I tell you?" I hissed at my friend. "They're a bunch of dirty minded dwarves!"

"It's alright you know." Kili smirked from next to me. "You can look at her." I shot him a confused glance before accidently peeking at Fili. I looked away quickly, and then did a double take. I soon found myself staring shamelessly at Fili's chest. Fortunately, he… she? Still had a tank top on underneath.

"You've got boobs." Miley looked up in surprise at my statement. She looked at me, then at Fili. Her mouth dropped open.

"You're… a girl?" she squeaked.

"Hurray!" Fili clapped slowly. "You can state the obvious!"

"How the hell did I _not_ notice that?" I asked to no one in particular.

"That's not right!" Miley shook her head, standing quickly. "That's not right at all." She looked around like the sky was falling. "This is so so so wrong YOU," she pointed and Fili. "Are supposed to be HIS," she pointed at Kili. "BROTHER!"

"Sister." Fili corrected with a smile.

"BROTHER!" she shouted again before taking a few steps away and whirling around again. "This is your fault." She looked at me.

"_My_ fault? How is this _my_ fault?"

"I don't know! But it has to be! You were saying that there should be more girl characters! You must have changed it somehow!"

"Characters…" Kili and Fili frowned together.

"Don't blame me!" I snapped back. "I'm just as confused as you are!"

"NO. You're not. Because you don't even _know_ this story! Because you're an idiot who can't even read a stupid book without being some sort of freak."

"Miley. Chill out. Now." I growled. She was acting like _me_ for Pete's sake.

"I just…" Miley looked around in confusion. "I don't know anymore." And she rushed off.

"Was that my fault?" Fili asked in confusion as I let out an annoyed sigh and closed my eyes.

"No. She's just… a stupid geek."

"Geek?"

"Ugh never mind." The three of us stayed motionless in silence for a moment. Then I spoke again. "Hey. What happened on the bridge?" After a few moments of silence, I opened my eyes again and looked at Kili. He was staring at me deeply for a moment before nodding to Fili, who casually vacated in silence. I gulped nervously before turning back to Kili. His silence was scaring me.

"How much do you know about the dwarven belief of a One?" he asked at last.

"Let's see well Fili told me about them before. He… she said something about a One is the one other that they will love for the rest of their lives. And a special bond forms between them. Or something like that…" The sappy romance novel.

"Well…" Kili started, looking at the ground. "I wasn't sure at first, but now I'm positive…" He looked up at me again. "You are my One." I stared at him for a moment, trying desperately to ignore the incredible corniness of it all.

"But…" the word slipped out of my mouth before I had time to close it again. Kili's face became washed with worry.

"But?" he prompted.

"But…" I'm not even from here. This is just a book. How can… oh. It's just a book. I guess that makes sense… kind of. Oh shoot. He's still waiting for me to answer. "But… All I've been since we met is rude and mean and…" What am I even saying? I'm not a mean person!... No, I am. I really, really am. And it was too late. The tears were flowing freely down my face now. Kili's arms wrapped around me gently, stroking my head like a cat or something. He still smelled. But I didn't really care. I just… I wanted to stop crying. To stop acting like a spoiled little kid all the time. But the tears just kept coming and coming and coming. Why did I have to be so mean? Why couldn't I just be nice to people? Had that stupid ghost been right after all? Maybe, it wasn't everyone else's fault. Maybe… maybe all this time, it's been mine.

_There was something wrong going on. Seriously wrong. Fili was a girl. A GIRL. What in middle earth was going on? Gandalf would know. He was a wizard right? He'd be the most likely to have some insight into this. If something wrong was going on. That wizard would be the first to know about it. Right?_

_"Ah, Lady Miley." Perfect timing._

_"Gandalf, I was just looking for you-"_

_"As was I." the wizard smiled. "We are going to give that map reading another attempt. Perhaps you would like to join us?" My first instinct was to say no. That there was something very wrong going on. But causing panic would just make things worse. No. I would have to wait. _

_._

_"Our business is no concern of elves."_

_"For goodness sake, Thorin, show him the map." I stood next to Bilbo as the wizard sighed exasperatedly at the dwarf lord._

_"It is the legacy of my people. It is mine to protect, as are its secrets." Thorin hissed._

_"Save me from the stubbornness of dwarves!" Bilbo and I shared a glance. "Your pride will be your downfall." Gandalf told the dwarf. "You stand here in the presence of one of the few in Middle-earth who can read that map. Show it to Lord Elrond!" Thorin considered this for a moment before eventually handing over the map. Much to Balin's displeasure. _

_"Erebor." Elrond unrolled the map. He hardly seemed surprised. "What is your interest in this map?" Gandalf spouted some nonsense about academic reasons and hidden texts before Thorin could ruin their chances._

_"You still read ancient dwarvish, do you not?" Gandalf smiled._

_"Cirth Ithil." Elrond said as he walked a few paces away._

_"Moon Runes. Of course, an easy thing to miss." Gandalf nodded to Bilbo and I._

_"Well in this case, that is true." Elrond nodded. "Moon runes can only be read by the light of a moon of the same shape and seasons the day on which they were written." Thorin looked at the elf anxiously. _

_"Can you read them?" _

_Lord Elrond looked back at the map. "These runes were written on a Midsummer's Eve by the light of a crescent moon nearly two hundred years ago." Everyone waited for the Lord to continue. "It seems fate is against you, Thorin Oakenshield. That moon has passed and will not return for quite some time."_

_"What?" I shouted loudly. Everyone turned to me in alarm. "What do you mean it's passed?"_

_"If it had been yesterday…" Lord Elrond began. Right! They planned on reading the map last night! That means… It was all my fault… and M's we had messed it all up! No, no, no…_

_"All is lost then." Balin shook his head._

_"Well, there must be some other way." Bilbo suggested._

_"I'm afraid the only option is to wait." Lord Elrond frowned._

_"I know what it says!" All heads turned to me._

_Oops. _

_Oh well, too late to back out now._

_"The inscription reads: 'Stand by the grey stone when the thrush knocks, and the setting sun with the last light of Durin's Day will shine upon the key-hole.'" Everyone stared at me. The silence was truly deafening. "Please don't ask me how I know this, I cannot answer, but I swear it's true." I hoped at least, something was wrong with this story; I just hoped the inscription was the same._

_"What is Durin's Day?" Bilbo frowned._

_"The start of the dwarves new year." Gandalf explained cautiously as he continued to gaze at me warily._

_"This is ill news." Thorin turned to Balin. "Summer is passing, Durin's day will soon be upon us."_

_"We still have time." Balin replied as Lord Elrond walked over to me._

_"Time? For what?" Bilbo asked._

_"How did you know the inscription?" The elf lord asked me._

_"I cannot answer that." I replied evenly, though I was starting to tremble slightly._

_"Why can't you?" Lord Elrond pressed._

_"I cannot answer that either." _

_"Why is that?"_

_"I cannot answer any of your questions." I closed my eyes tightly._

_"Then can you answer mine?" Gandalf asked. My eyes flew open again. I had meant to talk to him. I guess better now than never._

_"Fine. Listen, there is something very VERY wrong going on. This world is not how it is supposed to be. Events are not going, as they should. But that is to be expected, seeing as there are two more than there should be. But it's _more_ than that. The premise, the very fabric of the story is changing. Fili is a GIRL. That was _not_ changed be M or myself."_

_"My dear, what on earth are you talking about?" Gandalf puzzled. "What do you mean, events are changing?"_

_"The events! The…" I looked around at those assembled. Probably some of the more level headed people to tell. "This is a STORY. It's a book from the real world, my world. You are all characters in that book and the book is not how it should be!"_

_"A-a book?" Bilbo repeated._

_"Yes! A book." I groaned. "My friend is able to go into books when she reads them. That's how we got here! But something's gone WRONG with the book. What if it's not just this one? What if other books start changing as well?"_

_"What do mean by book?" Gandalf frowned._

_"Are you seriously STILL stuck on that?" I threw my hands up in exasperation. "Okay, I'll make this as simple as I can. See that shelf over there?" I pointed at one of the bookcases. "It has books on it. And in those books are stories. In my world, this place and the events involving Thorin Oakenshield are a story. They are in a book called The Hobbit. All right? I have read that book called The Hobbit several times, and I know that Fili is a boy." _

_"She's not a boy lass." Balin frowned._

_"Exactly!" I pointed at the white bearded dwarf. "But he… she should be! Something has gone wrong and it's probably going to get worse." Elrond and Gandalf exchanged glances._

_Lord Elrond spoke calmly. "Where exactly is your friend now?"_

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**Please let me hear your thoughts! Any ideas what might happen next? It's going to get wild!**


	19. Chapter 19: A Huge Blunder

**Things are gonna get a little crazy. Abandon all hope ye who read.**

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Kili helped me back to the room in the healing house. It was slow going, even with him supporting most of my weight. We did not talk as we walked, but of us in our own thoughts. I cannot say for certain what he was thinking about, but I know clearly what I was thinking about. I was thinking: _M, you idiot, what have you gotten yourself into now?_

The reality was, I was in a story. And once the story was over, POP I'm back in my own time a week from when I left, nothing but my roommate and a few memories to remember the trip by. Not the best situation to fall in love during.

In fact, if I had any choice about it, I'd have chosen in a heartbeat _not_ to have fallen in love. It's the worst thing you can do in a story. Well… almost. Stories could harm my physically. Death meant nothing. Often painful, but other than that, it was something that passed.

It was the emotions that scarred me. And the two strongest emotions are fear… and love.

I had known fear. Enough for a lifetime. Fear had turned me into a cold, untrusting jerk.

But I had not loved before, only to have it ripped away from me. The danger was that I would become an even worse person because of it. And no one wanted that.

I glanced sideways at Kili. His hand held me up by the waist as he stared at the ground contemplatively as we passed over it.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked quietly. He looked at me in surprise, being ripped from his thoughts.

"Us." He smiled tiredly. I hummed in reply, looking forward again.

"What exactly about… 'us' were you thinking about?" I inquired further.

"Do you love me?" He asked.

"Against my better judgment, yes." I chuckled. The dwarf stopped, making me look at him in confusion.

"And you agree, that you are my One… and I am yours?" he asked further.

"Yeah… it would seem that way…" I replied hesitantly.

"I can understand if you don't want to now…" he started. "If it's too soon… But, Gil… would you be willing to marry me?" My eyes widened. "Tonight?"

No no no no no no no! Why did he have to ask me that? That's the worst thing that could happen! I was just going to disappear; there was no other way for this to end! What could I say? How was I supposed to respond?

"That's not my name." I frowned.

"It isn't?" Kili said, clearly nervous.

"No, it was an alias. My real name is… Mary Sue." I looked into large brown eyes.

"Mary Sue… that's a strange name." He commented numbly.

"Yeah, yeah it is. That's why Miley just calls me M." I explained looking away again.

"I guess that makes sense." He nodded.

"Yeah…" I trailed off before breaking into hollow chuckles. "We barely know anything about each other." I looked back at him. "We're little more than perfect strangers."

"It feels as though I've known you my whole life." Kili admitted.

"Trust me, you do _not_ want to have known me my whole life. Remember, I'm mean and selfish and I don't trust anyone." I sighed.

"That's the way you were, but you've changed now." Kili argued, looking desperate. "You've grown. You're not the same woman I met in Bag End, who fended me off with a poker just for saying hello."

"But I am!" I shrugged. "I'm still the same person. I'm still mean and selfish and untrusting. Stuff like that isn't grown out of in a day."

"It can be." He smirked.

"But it isn't." My head drooped. "Not for me." He didn't reply. "I want to be a better person. One worth being your wife."

"I understand." Kili frowned. _Really_ I thought to myself _because I don't_. And while it was true, I did want to be a better person, I doubted it would change anything. I _couldn't_ marry him. This was a story. And I was not part of it.

We started down the hallway again, almost to my room. Neither of us felt like talking. But the sound of frantic footsteps alerted our ears. An elf, Lindir as I later learned, came around the corner, eyes immediately found me.

"My lady," He did one of those little elven bow thingies. "If you could please accompany me."

"Why?" I asked hesitantly.

"Lord Elrond desires to speak with you." Lindir answered.

"Just me?" I had the feeling of a knife twisting in my stomach. The feeling of betrayal.

"You and Lady Miley." Twist.

"Kili, do you want to come? Should be fun!" I offered, faking a smile.

"Only you and Lady Miley, My Lady." Lindir pressed. Twist.

"What's it all about though?" I inquired.

"All will be explained upon our arrival." Twist.

"I don't think I'm up for it tonight." I frowned. "I must have worn myself out, my injuries don't seem to be fully healed."

"I'm afraid your presence now is mandatory." Twist.

"… Very well." I said, in a reserved tone. "I'll be along in a moment." I lead Kili away a few steps until we were out of the elf's good hearing and turned to the dwarf. His face was a mask of worry. "Follow behind as quietly as you can. Make sure no one spots you. Something in my gut is telling me that I shouldn't trust him."

"Then don't go with him." Kili said as if it should be obvious.

"They still have Miley with them." I reminded him. "I can't afford to act rash. Besides, if I don't go then how will I find out what's going on anyway?" I put on a brave smile before turning to hobble over to where Lindir stood.

"Are you quite finished?" He asked patiently.

"Yes I think so." I smiled back. "Could you help me? My wounds do make travel rather slow." The elf obliged, though it was not easy, considering the height difference. As we walked, I tried to catch a glimpse or sound of Kili following. There was nothing. Which I suppose was a good thing, but it only made me more nervous.

I was lead to a circular room high up. Many guards lined the walls. Miley, Gandalf, and Lord Elrond stood in the room. The tension could be cut with a knife.

"Hey Miley, what's up?" I smiled, though I searched carefully for any indicator that something was wrong. Slight sweating, nervous twitches, wringing of hands. All common signs of anxiety. Miley showed all three.

"Ah, Lady Gilgamesh." Gandalf smiled pleasantly. "How good of you to join us."

"Not that I had much choice in the matter." I raised an eyebrow. "What's going on here. Cut to the chase please, what is it all about?"

"I told them." Miley whispered. I rounded on her.

"…What?"

"I told them that this was a story… about your powers…" I _should_ have just killed the both of us then and there and gotten it over with. But there was nothing good nearby.

"You _told_ them." I repeated, making sure I heard her correctly. Miley nodded nervously. I closed my eyes saying a silent prayer to whoever up there hated me so much, asking for just a little slack. Just this once. I didn't get it.

"Perhaps you could enlighten us further?" Lord Elrond asked me.

"No, I don't think I can." I smiled back as pleasantly as I could. "There is some information that you are not supposed to know."

"Yes, but that is not for you to decide." Gandalf gave me a look.

"Isn't it?" I snapped back. "I have the upper hand here. I have the information you desire. And I'm not going to give it to you. So why don't you just kill us and be done with it."

"We are not murders Lady Gilgamesh." Lord Elrond fixed me with a stern eye.

"Are you not?" I replied. "What are all these guards for then? Decoration?"

"They are to ensure you do not try to make any… hasty decisions." The elf lord chose his words carefully.

"Like trying to escape?" I guessed. His silence was answer enough.

"This has all been some sort of misunderstanding." Miley cut in. "Send for the Lady Galadriel, she will know that our presence brings you no harm!"

"Does it not?" A feminine voice floated on the night air. Miley and I turned to see a woman clad in white with long golden locks. She looked like Rina, but older, wiser, and she had a silver circlet upon her head. Speaking of Rina…

The woman's gaze drifted to me. Clear blue eyes penetrating my soul. With only a glance, she saw my darkest fears, and my happiest memories. I wanted her out.

"Lady Galadriel…" Miley breathed from beside me.

"What is this Mithrandir?" The elven lady asked, moving her piercing gaze from me to Miley.

"It is rather complicated, my lady." Gandalf replied. But Galadriel did not hear him. Her eyes gazed, wide-eyed, at Miley.

"The Child of the Prophecy…" All eyes turned to Miley, who stared back in confusion.

"What?" she asked in confusion.

"The Child of the Prophecy! It is said, that a time of great shadow shall fall, and in the darkness, a light shall immerge. A woman with hair of brilliant red. She comes… from another world…"

"Wait, what?" I squeaked. "_She's _the prophecy? But I'm the one who can travel into books and see ghosts and everything!" Galadriel spared me a second glance.

"You are unimportant." The elven lady said before focusing again on Miley.

Wellllllll excuse you! I huffed slightly and stayed quiet, watching in discontent as the others carried on, oblivious to my existence.

"You will save us all." Lady Galadriel whispered to Miley.

"M-me? But I'm just a normal college undergraduate." She frowned. "I'm nothing special. How could I save you all? You're some of the most powerful beings ever! And I'm just… well… me." Galadriel smiled knowingly, as the two seemed to stare at each other in silence for a long time. Like… a really long time. At last, Miley spoke again. "You really mean that?"

"I do." Lady Galadriel nodded. "Do not be afraid. We will train you."

"Whoa, wait… train?" I spoke up, tired of being ignored. "Sorry, but we don't really have time for that, do we? Miley… the quest continues, doesn't it? I don't think Thorin will want to hang around for much longer."

"You must abandon the quest." Galadriel spoke to Miley and Gandalf. "Oakenshield and his men will continue to the mountain on their own. Leave them to their own devices. Their quest was always meant to fail."

"No it wasn't." Miley frowned. "No, they succeed… they kill the dragon… they-"

"I have foreseen their journey. The dwarves will not reach the mountain alive." Galadriel spoke. "But we have no time for that. Come, we must prepare you."

"Well… I'm just gonna go then, with the dwarves and all… probably more fun." I spoke up, starting to edge out of the room.

"You will do no such thing." Gandalf barked. "You will stay here with Lady Miley. We do not know for certain how your… condition works. So we will have to keep you under careful observation."

"No way hosay." I made a face. "I'm not hanging around here! Miley, come on, none of this concerns us anyway. Let's just go and get to the end of the story and be done with it." Miley turned to me, sadness in her eyes.

"I can't forsake them." She admitted. "I'm sorry M, but something is wrong with this story and I've got to do what I can to fix it. I'm sorry…" Then she turned to Lady Galadriel. "But please, let her go with the company. She's grown very attached to them."

"It's out of the question." Gandalf said immediately. "She must stay here as well."

"Make me." I hissed. And I dashed away, hurrying out of the room. But two pairs of arms grabbed me and pulled me back.

"M!" Miley cried in horror. I struggled, kicking and struggling for freedom, but more hands came and held me fast. My teeth gritted as I strained against the guards who held me before the wizard and elven nobility.

"We will keep you here by force if that is what is needed." Lord Elrond frowned. "But I urge you to reconsider."

"You cannot keep me here!" I barked, struggling even more.

"Take her to a guest room. Bar the windows and lock the door. Do not let her leave unless you have permission from one of us three." The guards nodded and began hoisting me out of the room.

As I was dragged out, I heard Miley screaming at them. "What are you doing! You can't do this! You're supposed to be the _good guys-_" I heard no more of that conversation as I was dragged further through the halls. I was more or less tossed into the room, and the door slammed in my face. The sound of a lock clicked into place and I scrambled to my feet and rushed at the door. I bounced off harmlessly.

There was no way out.

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**People idolize Galadriel and Gandalf and those people. But they care for the good of the world, not individuals. And so, when M throws caution to the wind they must react with drastic measures.**

**I hope people don't get mad about that. I just think that's what would realistically happen. There is no black and white. Everyone is a shade of gray.**

**Please review if you have the time!**


	20. Chapter 20: We're only mortal

My wounds ached, as I lay, motionless on the bed of my makeshift prison. I shouldn't have exerted myself so much. Most of my wounds had reopened in the struggle and it had all been a waste of effort anyway.

It was dark. With the shutters barred across the windows, only small streaks of moonlight drifted though the cracks. So when something flitted across my small source of light, I noticed.

At first I had thought it might have been a critter, or a branch in the leaves. But after watching closely, I realized it was not. I forced myself off the bed and tiptoed over to the window.

"Hello?" I asked quietly.

"M?" It was Kili's voice. Oh god, thank you.

"Kili! Thank god. What took you so long idiot?" I whispered through the crack.

"I had to find a way around the guards!" He hissed from the other side. "But don't worry, I'll get you out of here… you hurt yourself."

"Not really, now how am I gonna get out of here?"

"Not really?" His voice asked, full of disbelief. "M, you're in pain all over! What did they do to you?"

"And how would you know that?" I rolled my eyes.

"I just do, okay?" he said irritably. "Now just sit tight, I'll go get Fili, she'll be able to get the locks on these windows off in no time."

"They barred _and_ locked them?" I squeaked. "This is ridiculous!"

"Shhhh!"

"Sorry." And I was left on my own again. It was a little mini eternity until I heard movement again. Kili and Fili were conversing in quiet whispers just outside the window. Small clinks and tinks followed then the sliding of wood. My eyes blinked a little as moonlight flooded through the opening window. Fili and Kili grinned in at me. I grinned back.

"There you go." Fili stepped out of the way for Kili to come to the window and help me out. My stiff limbs made the process rather difficult.

"Great." I said, once I was out of the room. "No what do we do?"

"The others are getting ready as we speak." Kili informed me. "We leave as soon as we can."

"Where's Miley?" Fili asked in confusion.

"She's… staying behind." I frowned.

"What?"

"She's staying here. I don't know why, but she is. Something about a 'prophecy' or something like that."

"Alright then." The dwarves frowned. "Let's get moving." We had not moved more than two steps however, when the door to the now empty room opened and an elf carrying medical supplies spotted us out the window.

Boy did we run. And so did they elves. It was a mad dash through Rivendell, leaving several broken statues and priceless pieces of art in our wake.

Somehow, the three of us made it back to the company. All were packed and ready to go, so we immediately started out, the sound of elves pursing close behind.

"Don't look back!" I shouted as we ran.

"They've got bows!" Kili shouted.

"You looked back!" And soon enough, arrows began clanging off our surroundings, narrowly missing. But they all missed. Of course they all missed. They weren't trying to kill us, just to make us stop. To surrender because we knew that they _could_ kill us if we gave them too much trouble. But if we just kept running, if we kept running we would make it out. We could escape this yet.

But you know me by now. I'm not a lucky person. I never have and I never will be.

My luck is the only reason any of this was happening.

My luck was the reason my leg was wounded.

My luck is why my wounded leg chose that moment to seize up.

My luck is the reason I fell.

My luck is the reason I fell right in the path of an arrow.

My luck is why it pierced my heart.

My luck is the reason I died.

This death was like many others I had experienced. It wasn't a true death, just like sleep wasn't a true sleep. It was just a haze of not being awake. Well this death was just a haze of not being alive. I can only imagine that an actual death is far far different from what I had experienced so many times before.

But I was dead.

I did not hear the company's shouts of outrage or the horror of the elf who had fired the arrow. I could not hear Kili calling my name as he rushed to my side. As he cradled my head in his lap and begged me not to die. I did not hear his screams of rage as he slaughtered the elves in a blind frenzy.

I was dead.

The only thing I heard was my heart, beating after it stopped. Because it hadn't really stopped you see. Because I had died and that meant one thing.

I was home. Home in the little dorm room at my college a week later from when I had first left.

And I was alone.

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**:)**

**Please review!**


	21. Chapter 21: Rebooting in progress

Which, of course, was complete wrong. I shouldn't be alone. Miley was supposed to be there as well. I quickly scrambled off the carpeted floor of my dorm room back in Scranton PA. The room was empty.

I grabbed my cellphone off the nightstand where I had left it. January 5. I counted back the days. Exactly a week from when Miley and I had first jumped into the Hobbit. So where was that long legged roommate of mine?

Nowhere was the simple answer.

"Miley?" I whispered into the silence. Only the birds chirping outside in the early morning had the decency to reply. Great. Just great.

But of course, something was likely to go a bit awry. But I didn't panic. Not yet. I waited, and searched. And made sure that Miley wasn't already back and wouldn't be coming back.

After a month, I finally decided that she was NOT coming back. Not without help anyway.

Snow covered the ground outside when I picked up the worn copy of the hobbit. I had done a lot of thinking, and I came to a conclusion. We entered the book together; we had to leave it together. So, I had a hunch.

It wasn't a very good hunch, but give me a break, I'm not really used to thinking this much and I had a huge exam to study for the week before.

Maybe, if I read the book again, it would take me back to where I died and I could fix everything and tell Miley the situation and everything would be fine.

It was worth a shot, right?

I picked up the book, running a hand along the ripped, breaking spine. All the pages were dog-eared and the dust jacket was long gone. Taking a deep breath, I opened the book, searching through the beginning through all the extra text and found the beginning.

_In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit…_

My eyes shot open immediately and were attacked by the bright light of summer. Or at least it seemed like summer. The air was full of the sounds of birds and bugs.

I sat up immediately, ignoring the wave of nausea, as I looked around frantically. No no no no! It was Bag End! I sat on the top of the little hobbit hole, the familiar tree swaying above me, oblivious of my stress. Scrambling to my feet, I continued to look around. What now? Did this mean Miley was gone forever? What had I done!

"I'm going to be sick." At the sound of a voice, I nearly jumped out of my skin. Miley! Oh thank god. I turned to look at the sound only to see a nauseous red haired girl collapsed on the path next to another person. She had brown hair and a rather stubby body. My blood ran cold.

"Side effect." The brown haired one said brusquely. "You get used to it." That was me! I quickly ducked down to the ground again as I watched myself look at my… her surroundings.

"Quickly I hope." Miley frowned, sounding very ill. "I'd hate to start the book by vomiting all over the front steps of Bag End."

"Where now?" the other me asked in confusion.

"Bag End. You know, dark green door, top of the Shire, home of Bilbo Baggins?" God. This was so messed up! What was I supposed to do now? I can't just walk up to me and say hi, can I? That would be like… imploding the world or something. Right? "Are you telling me that you have _never_ read the hobbit?" The conversation below me continued.

"If I had, I wouldn't be here, now would I?" I hid further as the other me looked up at the door. "So… Bag End is it? Interesting." I peeked over the edge again as the other me brushed herself off. Was that really what I looked like to other people? "So, where do we start?" Good question. I thought to myself crawling backwards from the edge until I could stand without being seen. As soon as I could, I took off at a run through the maze of hobbit holes and pastures.

A plan. I needed a plan a… oh. Oh ho. If I could guide Miley and the other me through the story somehow so that they make it alive to the end or die together… then Miley should be able to get out! YES! Oh I am a genius sometimes. But I needed to somehow do this without being seen.

… Or recognized, at any rate.

I'll tell you, it wasn't easy finding myself a suitable disguise. Especially in Hobbiton. But, as they day progressed, I managed to procure through various means, suitable attire.

And by various means, I mean running across a peddler from out of town on his way to Bree. From him I purchased a worn traveler's outfit, a bow and quiver, and a helmet that for some reason only covered half my face. Of course… when I say purchased, I mean it in the vaguest sense of the word. More like grabbed and ran.

…yeahhhhh.

The traveler's outfit was rather drab and a bit too large, but with a bit of work, I managed. The cloak it had come with proved very useful, for it had a hood to further shadow my face. And I used and extra strip of cloth that I had taken off the pant legs as a scarf ninja masky thing. I loved those ninja masky things.

With my new outfit donned and my weapons acquired, I might say I was looking rather fine. Or I hoped I did anyway. The surface of a stream isn't very good at reflecting.

"Oi! You there! Get back here and pay for those right now or I'm gonna wring your-" I glanced quickly at the mad peddler storming down the path and bolted. The weapons and the very fabric weighed me down, though it was sturdier than the clothes back at home. And the helmet and hood made sight a decent bit harder. I was going to have to find a way to ditch one or the other soon enough. If I just had some face paint… or some dye. That would get rid of the coloring of my skin or hair.

I vaulted over a tiny wooden fence before plummeting down a grassy hill, sheep trotting in mild panic out of the way. The many hobbit folk complained loudly as the chase passed by.

"Stop! You little piece of-" oh shoot. He was gaining on me. If I kept my hood up, it should be fine. The lower half of my face was covered anyway, right? I'd just have to remember to disguise my voice. Constantly. And I needed an alias.

I yanked off the helmet and called over my shoulder. "Here! You can have this back!" And the helmet was hurled through the air, missing the Peddler completely. Man, my aim was bad.

"When I catch you, you'll… you'll… you wish you ran faster!"

"Really? Is that the best you could come up with?"

"SHUT IT!" The weapons were really weighing me down. My breath was coming in ragged, labored gasps and my lungs were beginning to feel the burning sensation of oxygen deprivation. I needed to loose this guy. Fast.

And obviously, outrunning him wasn't going to be the solution. So instead, I decided to use my brain for once. I know right? Crazy.

So, I dashed around one of the bends in the path and immediately jumped off a hill to hide behind the overhang and hopefully lose my pursuer.

I fell on people instead. Two people to be specific. Two people who had, until that point, been wandering around the shire in search of a certain Bag End where they were to meet with several others and begin a quest. I happened to be familiar with these two people once we finally untangled ourselves from each other.

It was Fili and Kili. I almost didn't stop myself from crying their names out loud when I realized it was them. They both stared at me in shock before quickly reaching for their weapons.

"Woah! Woah wait a sec! Let's not do anything rash here!" I quickly scrambled before realizing I had forgotten to change my voice.

"Who are you?" Fili demanded seriously. Apparently they didn't like being landed on.

"Yes. I will answer that. I will. But first I have to make sure, you're a girl, right?"

"What?" Fili frowned. "Yes, but why do you care?"

"Who are you? Answer the question!" Kili barked, trying to act all tough.

"Yes, I did say I would answer that didn't I? Well-" I froze and looked up to see the Peddler looking over the edge at me. "Oh sh…" I chose not to finish that sentence and instead took off again. Thanks to a certain two somebodies, my expert plan to loose the dude had failed.

You can save yourself as well.

Why had I not thought of that sooner? And why was I always getting brilliant ideas while running for my life? I quickly stopped and turned around again, heading towards the peddler, who seemed confused by my actions.

If I can make sure Miley and my other self make it out alive, I can change other events too! I could make sure I didn't fall in love with Kili!

I dashed past the peddler who turned around and followed immediately. I ran straight for Fili and Kili again and crashed into them. Turns out, they like being crashed into even _less_ than they like being fallen on. Once we were untangled, the peddler was almost on me, so I quickly turned to the two dwarves.

"A favor?" I asked. Without waiting for a response, I grabbed one of Fili's hidden daggers and hurled it at the man. He ducked without considering the fact that I had awful aim and stared where the dagger had dug itself into the ground inches from his feet. I snatched another of the hidden daggers (I had made note of several hiding spots during our travels just in case the dwarves turned on me) and held it back ready to throw.

"This next one's going for your head." I hissed dangerously. The peddler whimpered slightly and scuttled off. That was actually surprisingly easy.

"What in Mahal's name was that?" Fili growled, grabbing her dagger back from my hand.

"Just a little trouble with a shop keep. Sorry to bother you two. I'm sure you must be busy. I am too, you see. Heading to Bag End. Heard of it?" I tried to monitor my language. To make sure I was acting the same way I would in front of Miley and other me. But I wasn't doing a very good job of it.

Fili and Kili shared a glance at my mention of Bag End. Hook line and sinker.

"We've heard of it…" Kili admitted.

"Why do you ask?" Fili inquired suspiciously.

I shrugged. "I doubt there are many other reasons for dwarves like yourselves to be in these parts. Aren't exactly peaceful gardeners, are you?"

"Don't seem too peaceful yourself, miss." Fili replied skeptically.

"True enough." I nodded.

"So what brings you around here for?"

"As I said, same reason as you two." I repeated.

"Who says we're going to Bag End?" Kili narrowed his eyes.

"Listen darling, I know a thing or two. You can drop the act." What would be a good way to deter myself from falling in love with the person I'm destined to love… I had tried to ignore it when I thought he and Miley…

I really am a genius sometimes.

"Here, hold out your hand." I instructed Kili.

"What?" he took a step back. This wasn't going to work. I was just scaring them off. I stepped back and took a deep, calming breath.

"I'm sorry. Let's start this over again." I smiled. "Hello, nice to meet you! You're headed to Bag End, what a coincidence! So am I. who might you be?"

They shared another glance before replying.

"Fili." Fili said.

"And Kili." Kili said.

"At your service." The nodded their heads politely in unison.

"And who are you?"

"The name's Nimm Nita." I smiled, grabbing Kili's hand suddenly. Wow. Even after knowing what to expect… just, wow. But I managed to hold my wits together as he stared at me wide eyed. "I am your One."

* * *

**Well this should be a wild ride :)**

**Fun fact: Nimm Nita has the same meaning as Mary Sue which means Bitter Grace.**

**Instead of begging for reviews, I'll just assume you know how much it means to me and you know where the white box below is ;)**


	22. Chapter 22: Hatching a plan

"You're his what?" Fili scoffed, staring at me like I was crazy. By now, I probably was.

"I'm his One." I repeated confidently.

"We don't have to listen to this." Fili tugged on Kili's arm. "Come on, let's get out of here."

"No… she's right." Kili mumbled raising his eyes from his hand to look straight at me. "You are… but, who are you?"

"Nimm Nita. As I said." I turned away. Time for questions.

"That's not answering the question." Fili pointed out.

"Fine. What do you want to know?" I replied, back still turned to them.

"Where are you from?" Fili asked immediately.

I hesitated, thinking back to the map I had seen in Bilbo's house the first day. "Bree." Was the name I came up with.

"You are from man then?" Fili asked immediately.

"Not exactly…" Geez this was not good. I didn't know any good answers. "I am not of any race known to you." I turned to look at them, but I could see in their eyes that they did not believe me.

"Why are you here?"

"To save your quest from destruction." I replied immediately. Technically, this was true. "Myself and two others have been sent to aid you. They should be at our destination already." Please let this work. Please please please.

"What do you mean, save our quest?" Kili finally spoke. "How do you know of it?"

"My people have… powerful seers that guide us." I replied evenly.

"And that is how you knew that you were my One?"

"Yes."

Their faces were impossible to read as they shared a glance with each other. Did they really believe me? I wouldn't blame them if they didn't. I wouldn't.

"What do you think?" Fili asked her brother.

"She wasn't lying about being my One." Kili responded. "I would tend to think the rest was true as well."

They are so gullible I'm gonna go cry now. "I wise decision really." I commented lightly instead.

Fili glared at me before turning back to Kili. "So what do we do? Bring her with us? Uncle _will_ kill us."

"She already knows about the quest." Kili huffed. "And there's two of them there already she said. I don't see the big deal about bringing another one."

"Fine." Fili conceded, before turning to me. "But if I happen to find out that you've been lying to us, you'll regret it."

"Understood." Came my cool reply. I was so dead.

The rest of the distance to Bag End was relatively quiet. Kili and Fili walked ahead of me conferring quietly with each other. Both shot back suspicious glances now and then. I stayed quiet and emotionless. It helped that my entire face was covered by hood and mask. Though it did not help my trustworthiness. At last, we came to the front door and rang the bell.

The door was opened by a short, curly haired, furry footed, frazzled looking hobbit. Bilbo Baggins. I couldn't help but grin slightly beneath my ninja mask thing.

"Fili." The blonde sibling said.

"And Kili." The younger followed.

"At your service." They bowed together. As they bent down, I caught a glimpse of me staring at us. This was going to be so weird. She was staring with horrified, love-struck eyes at Kili. Miley was walking up shakily behind her when the dwarves stood again. I pushed through the two of them and addressed the hobbit. _I don't know him. I don't know him._ I reminded myself.

"Bilbo Baggins I presume." I said, making my voice a tad deeper and speaking with a fake accent. I couldn't use my normal voice. Not here.

"Nope!" Bilbo snapped. "You can't come in you've come to the wrong house." He tried to close the door, but Kili stopped him and forced the door back open.

"Has it been canceled?" the archer asked in alarm.

"No one told us." Fili glanced at the hobbit suspiciously.

"Ca- no nothing's been canceled!" Bilbo shook his head in confusion. Poor old Bilbo.

"Well that's a relief." Kili smiled, pushing his way into the hobbit hole. Fili and I followed. I looked around, wondering where Miley and myself had gone before spotting us... them a further down the hall. The other me, M, jerked her thumb towards us, glaring distrustfully. Then she narrowed her eyes angrily at Kili. I glanced over at the dwarf to find him staring dreamy eyed at Miley.

"Oi!" I smacked him on the arm. He blinked and glanced at me in confusion. "Unappreciated!"

"What? She's beautiful." Kili defended himself.

"Then what am I, a potato?" I asked angrily.

"Well considering that I've never actually _seen_ your face-"

"Ugh never mind." I groaned. "Look, go party with your dwarves, I need to go talk with people." I made a beeline for Miley, who was rubbing her temples in pain. M came to stand between me and Miley, a poker in between us.

"Listen up." myself growled at me. "You are not to come any closer than this to either of us. Understood? If you do, I have a justifiable reason to defend myself." Really? _Really?_ Oh help me I'm going to end up killing myself.

"I'm not a man." I replied in my deeper, accented voice. M made a face of confusion. "So put the poker down before you hurt yourself. Relax, have fun, I need to talk to your friend for a moment."

"Me?" Miley asked in confusion. "Wait, who are you? You're not in the book!"

"Relax a moment." I replied guiding her away to a quieter part of the house.

"Now hold up just a minute!" M growled.

I looked back at her from under my hood. "Go and have fun, will you? No one's going to hurt you here." I started away again before pausing and turning back. "Oh, and the hot one is mine, keep off." And this time I did actually leave, dragging a bewildered Miley with me.

Once we were in a suitably dark and quiet room, I stopped and turned to her.

"Who are you?" She demanded immediately. After a moment I pulled down my mask and flipped off my hood in a super cool fashion. Man, I probably looked soooo awesome. Miley stared flabbergasted. "M?"

"Not M." I shook my head. "Not any more." …I've watched way too many movies.

"What do you mean? What happened?" She looked down the hall to make sure the other me was still there.

"Something happened. Something later in this story." I started cryptically. "I can't tell you exactly what, but the point is… You didn't make it out."

"What?" Miley made a face. "But I thought you said... that we would just appear back home."

"That's what I thought as well. But something went wrong. Terribly wrong."

"Clearly. There are two of you." Miley sighed, sitting down on a chair as a wave of nausea hit her. "So why are you here now?"

"I came back to fix the story." I set my jaw. "I'm going to make sure that you and M make it alive to the end of the story. This, I swear to you."

"Make it alive…" Miley repeated. "Did one of us die?" My silence was enough of an answer. "One of us died! Which one? How?"

"I can't tell you that." I replied. "But you must swear right now that you will not tell a _single_ person in this story anything about our true origin or that this is actually a story. Do you understand? No one."

"I swear!" Miley replied. "Honestly though, do you really think I'd be foolish enough to do something like that?"

"… Also, Fili is a girl."

"You have got to be joking."

"I'm not. Ask her yourself." I shrugged.

"That's not possible." Miley shook her head. "That _can't_ be true."

"It is true." I told her. "Something has gone wrong with this story. Something very wrong."

"This… this can't be." Miley shook her head. "We have to do something! We have to tell someone… oh…" She sat back. "I told them, didn't I? In the future."

"Yes. But you won't do it again because you promised not to." I reminded her.

"Right. Yes."

"Good, now that we've got that all sorted out…" I pulled up my mask and hood once more as started back to where a whole bunch of dwarves were tumbling in the door.

"M?" I turned to look at Miley from under the shadow of my hood. "I mean…"

"Nimm Nita." I finished for her. "That's my name now."

"Nimm... What _did_ happen? You seem… very different."

"People change." I replied indifferently. "I learned things."

"Do I change?" Miley asked quietly. I stared at her a moment before turning away.

"I don't know. It hasn't happened yet." And I left. Then remembered something and popped my head back in. "Oh, and our back story! We three are from a new race that has powerful seers that have sent us to save the future of this quest. Tell M for me, will you?"

"And what are you going to do?" Miley asked, standing.

I grinned. "I'm gonna go find some face paint."

* * *

**This is going to be so much fun.**


	23. Chapter 23: The Transformation

After scourging around like a mad man I finally found the right supplies I'd need for my magical transformation to Nimm Nita. I mean, I think people would begin to suspect something if there were two of the same person running around. No one noticed me as I collected this and that among the pillaging dwarves. Poor Bilbo. I caught sight of other me picking on little Ori, then Kili and Fili going and biting the apples right in my face. It was a conflicting sight. On one hand, I was proud of them for sticking up for Ori like that. On the other hand, did they have to be such jerks about it?

Then Miley came and pulled M away to fill her in on the plan. And I got back to business. I finally found the bathroom (which reeked by the way) and got to work. It was a hard thing to do, bringing the dagger to my own brown locks. But then I realized that I was totally like Mulan in that moment and I swung the steel swiftly. The locks of hair dropped onto the floor. It was a sad sight. All that hair. My head did feel much lighter though. More free.

I admired the new length in the tarnishing mirror for a moment. It was very short and completely uneven.

Next step. Hair dye.

From a mix of various ingredients including black walnuts and olives, I had managed to concoct a crude, somewhat black, hair dye.

… I stared at my reflection. I looked like Harry Potter. Short black hair, stiff from the substances applied to it and sticking out at all angles. I heaved a heavy sigh. Well, no big loss. There wasn't much to ruin in the first place, so no one would really miss the small difference. And then the face paint. (Which was really just normal paint, but shhhh don't tell Bilbo. He doesn't want anyone to know that he paints.) A white base coat was first. It was cold and wet and felt weird when it started to dry. Then the blue lines. Don't ask why. But I somehow felt they were necessary. This was Nimm Nita. Warrior of the secret people of the sea. Daughter of the great seers and savior of the dwarves quest. Mary Sue, M, was gone. Now I was Nimm.

I left the bathroom and joined the others, once again masked and hooded. The dwarves had begun their feast and Gandalf, who should have been laughing jovially along with the others, was sitting quietly by watching Miley curiously as she laughed with Fili and Kili merrily. And if this was correct then… I glanced over at Bilbo and M standing aside angrily as they watched the others eat. I snatched a plate of biscuits off the table, narrowly avoiding Fili's boot, and walked over to them quietly. I could feel Miley and Kili's eyes on me. Bilbo and M looked up at me as I approached.

"I'd ask you to join us," I started in my other voice. "But from your faces I can see that you won't consider it. So here." I offered the plate to them. "Dwarves are a rowdy lot, just tell them what's on your mind. It's not that they aren't considerate, just forgetful." M glared at me and Bilbo just sighed wearily. Neither of them excepted the food. So I just put it on a small table stool thingy in the corner and made my way back to the feast. This time, I was going to eat. I squeezed into a chair between Bifur and Dori, pulled down my ninja mask and began eating. No one really took much notice. Except Kili of course. I saw him glance over at me the _one time_ I tried eating two eggs at once. I must have looked like some sort of gross cross between a toad and a pig. First impressions are great, aren't they?

Oh, and Gandalf was watching me every once in awhile as well. Of course, I left before the belching contest began. Honestly, doing it when you have to is fine, but forcing yourself if just plain nasty. And it smells awful.

I wandered back into the room to find half of the biscuits gone from the plate. I smiled and pulled up my mask again. Because, presently, Miley was motioning for me to join her and M. I walked over casually, knowing that my pleasantly full feeling must be dispatched if I was going to think straight.

"What is it?" I asked, barely remembering to alter my voice. I _really_ needed to watch myself.

"So I've been working out our cover story." Miley began.

"But who _is_ she?" M hissed to Miley. "Do you know her?"

"The name's Nimm Nita." I address M. "I'm another book traveller. But I lost my power and got stuck here. But, with your power, if we can all three of us get to the end of the book alive, I think I'll be able to get out again." Dang I was a good liar. Even Miley looked impressed. But only for a moment before she got back to business.

"Anyway, I've already been approached once by Gandalf. I barely managed to shake him off by saying that we will explain ourselves when all are present." Miley frowned.

"There are _more _people coming?" M balked.

"Thorin Oakenshield." I replied. "The leader of the company."

"I thought the tall guy was leader." M huffed. Geez I was in such a bad mood back then. I mean now… I mean… oh forget it.

"Gandalf? No. He is the wizard aiding them along the way." Miley shook her head.

"So what's our cover story?" I brought her back on track. "They're going to start singing soon and he arrives right after they finish."

"Wait, _singing_?" M scoffed.

"Right." Miley nodded to me. "We are three of the Forgotten Maiar, sent by the Valar to set right the imminent failure of this quest."

"The Forgotten Maiar?" I frowned. "That's a thing?"

"No." Miley replied. "But they're called forgotten for a reason." She smiled mischievously.

"And the Maiar being?" M prompted.

"They're the servants of the Valar who are basically the gods of this world. Which makes the Maiar more or less like angels." Miley explained quickly. "Gandalf is one of the Maiar."

"Alright… like winged dude killing devils type thing?" M guessed. I nodded until Miley cut me off.

"No. No wings. And he doesn't kill devils, he kills… evil Maiar…"

"Devils." M coughed into her fist.

"And that's in a trilogy much later so it'll be fine." Miley finished, ignoring M's comment.

"Alright then." I nodded. "And remember. Stay calm and collected." I glared at M. "We're trying to make ourselves likeable."

"Or you could just have fun." Miley smiled, spying Bilbo talking to Ori down the hall.

M sighed in frustration. "This has gotten a lot more complicated than I thought. Can't we just kill ourselves and be done with it?"

"No!" I shouted quickly. "That is the _worst_ thing you could do. Don't worry. It'll be a magical experience." And then the singing began. The three of us looked over to see Fili tossing plates to Kili as the brunette began singing in a deep voice.

_'Blunt the knives, bend the forks.'_

Fili came back with more plates, taking up the song.

_'Smash the bottles and burn the corks,'_

The rest of the dwarves began joining in.

_'Chip the glasses and crack the plates!_

_That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!'_

The tiny hobbit hole turned into one of the craziest assembly lines ever. Dwarves tossing dishes and silverware to one another. Fili continued to hurl things at Kili, who caught them easily and passed them on. It really was pretty hot. M stared at the whole affair bewilderedly as Miley and I joined in, clapping along with the beat. Miley even began dancing a bit.

_'Cut the cloth, tread on the fat_

_Leave the bones on the bedroom mat,_

_Poor the milk on the pantry floor_

_Splash the wine on every door._

_Dump the pots in a boiling bowl_

_Pound em up with a thumping pole_

_When you're finished, if they are whole_

_Send them down the hall to roll!'_

Bofur whipped out his little flute and started playing upon it merrily as the others continued to pile and clean dishes. Miley grabbed M's arm and pulled her into the dining room. I followed to find a table of beautifully stacked dishes. We could only laugh as Bilbo pushed through to stare in shock at the sight before him.

_'That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!'_

I forgot myself for a moment and slapped Kili on the shoulder as I continued to double over in laughter. But I quickly remembered that this was the beginning of the story again and he did not know me. I immediately withdrew, my laughing ceased as Kili turned in surprise to look at me. Then he grinned at me and winked before turning back to Nori who was commenting on Bilbo's face.

I was glad that I had a mask on to hide the reddish glow coming to my own face as I smiled quietly at the floor.

Then the door was knocked three times, and all went quiet. Gandalf turned ominously to the door and spoke in a low voice. "He is here."

* * *

**Not much happened this chapter, but I guess there was a bit of stuff. Hope you enjoyed it :D**


	24. Chapter 24: Take me too your leader

I stood straight and confident between Miley and M as Thorin stood before us, glowering.

"Who and what are these?" Thorin demanded of Gandalf.

"We are the Maiar forgotten." I declared, channeling as much power and certainty into myself as I could. Gandalf raised an eyebrow as Thorin gave him a 'this is all your fault isn't it look'. Some way or another, it probably was. But hey, who cares.

"Your quest has been doomed to fail, Oakenshield." Miley spoke. It sent shivers down my spine as I remembered Galadriel's words. '_Their quest was always meant to fail._' I snapped back into focus.

"How do you know of the quest?" Thorin frown. "Gandalf, what did you tell them?"

"He told us nothing." I rolled my eyes. "We do not need him to."

"Explain." Thorin demanded.

"Do not command us, Thorin Oakenshield." Miley barked, rising to her full height to tower over the dwarf lord. "We are trying to help you. And if you are too foolish to listen then you are not worth our time."

Someone just got _owned_.

"We have seen the outcome of this quest." I continued on calmly, while Miley slowly stood back again. "With our help it can be changed. Not all is lost."

"And why should I trust you?" Thorin asked, danger lining his words.

"Don't." I replied. "And on your head be it when all you hold dear comes to burn in ashes and smoke." The words felt heavy on the air. Thick, like the frog over a harbor. Thorin scowled and turned away to think. Gandalf took the silence as an invitation.

"Forgive me, but I do not recall you three." The wizard smiled.

"We are forgotten, Mithrandir." Miley replied. "That is the meaning of the word."

"Then tell me, what are your names?" Gandalf asked.

"You may refer to me as Miley." The red head smiled politely. "For that is all I will share at this time."

"Nimm Nita." I bowed my head slightly.

"Gilgamesh." M said stiffly I groaned inwardly. Did I _really_ use such a bad name?

"Very well." Thorin said, turning from Balin, a decision made. "Suppose I do accept your aid. What then?"

"Then we begin discussing the current plan, which I believe Gandalf has been working on." Miley smiled at the gray wizard.

"Perhaps," Gandalf suggested. "We should take seats?"

M let out a sigh exasperation. "I need some air."

"M-"

"Let her go." I stopped Miley as the past me walked brusquely out of Bag End. "She'll be fine." The company, Gandalf, Bilbo, Miley, and myself headed to the now clean, candle lit dining room and took our seats. Thorin was given something to eat and we sat in silence as he ate. Slowly. I almost died of boredom.

"So what _is_ your plan?" I asked once I had waited what I felt to be an appropriate amount of time. The dwarves glanced at one another.

"Our plan," Thorin started "had been to unite the seven kingdoms if the dwarves and march upon the dragon." Balin looked at his leader questioningly. "They will not come." A murmur of disappointment ran through those seated. "They say the quest is ours, and ours alone."

"You're, going on a quest?" Bilbo asked innocently. And so it went. Miley and I watched silently as the conversation played out before us. What I had gathered by the time Bilbo had fainted dead away on the carpet, was that for being thirteen dwarves going up against a dragon, they were extremely under prepared.

And extremely hard to control. To this day, it is the greatest respect I hold for Thorin that he was able to silence them at a word, and direct them with a glance. Such complete and utter trust was rare and profound. A true gift.

The dwarves left Gandalf to talk to Bilbo and bring him around. I found a corner and sat in it. I was tired. Super tired. Being a completely different person was a lot of work. My head slumped against the wall as I watched the fire from under my hood. My eyelids were heavy and I had almost drifted off to sleep when I felt movement. I opened my eyes to see a coat being laid over me.

"You don't have to do that you know." I said, letting out a sigh of drowsiness. The figure paused for a moment before sitting down beside me in silence. I looked over to see Kili staring into the fire, his eyes acting as a mirror of his soul. The fire danced in them.

"I don't know anything about you." He said, not looking at me. My gaze dropped to the floor. "But you keep acting like you know me."

"I'd like to know you." I said after a moment. "We may be strangers now, but it doesn't have to stay that way."

"You said you were a Maiar." Kili looked at me, his jaw clenching and unclenching.

"Yes. And you are a dwarf I assume?" I replied.

"Obviously."

"Obviously."

"And your name is Nimm Nita?"

"It is. And your name is Kili. Your sister is Fili. Your uncle is Thorin."

"Do you have any family?"

I looked into the fire. Did I? M had a family. Part of one anyway. Half of one. But I wasn't M anymore. Could I still call them my family? Did I have the right?

"I used to." I answered at last. "Not any more."

"The other two are not your family?"

"Not really." I shrugged. "Our destinies lie of different paths. It's… complicated." Really? Would that because one of them, I don't know, _is_ me? Complicated was putting it mildly.

"Oh." Was all Kili said.

"But it's fine." I took a deep breath, smiling beneath my mask. "My life doesn't really matter at this point. As long as they survive."

"What do you mean?" Kili frowned. "What makes them matter and not you?"

"Lots of things." I laughed. "Lots of strange things that don't make any sense..." I could feel his eyes on me. "What about you though?" I changed the subject. "A person isn't just defined by their relatives."

Kili laughed and stared into the fire as well. "Aren't they?" I turned to look at him. "All my life… it's always been 'You're the son of royalty' 'Can't you be more like your sister?' 'I hope you grow to be a great man like your uncle' It's always the same."

"And you don't feel like they really know you." I filled in the silence.

The dwarf stared blankly for a moment before scratching the back of his head and sighing. "Aye. That's what it feels like sometimes." We sat against the wall in silence after that, each in our own thoughts. Just like when we he was walking me back to my room in Rivendell. We didn't need to make conversation. Just being with him was enough. It was calming.

My hand cautiously moved to touch his. I could feel his warm, calloused fingers that unconsciously began to stroke my own hand.

I looked up at him to find his eyes had also found their way to look at me. Our fingers intertwined, shadows dancing on them from the fire crackling on the other side of the room. There was a deep throated humming that had been slowly filling the room that I just noticed. The dwarves had wandered in one by one as we had been talking, or thinking rather. Miley sat next to Fili, eyes closed and listening to the rumble as Thorin began to sing.

_'Far over the Misty Mountains cold_

_To dungeons deeps and caverns old,' _

I looked to Kili again to see an expression new to me. The burden carried by this ancient race. A duty that fueled their resolve.

_'We must away, ere break of day_

_To find our long forgotten gold.' _

Kili's hand tightened as he joined in the song. And I could feel what he felt. I could understand the dwarves.

_'The pines were roaring on heights_

_The winds were moaning in the night'_

The dwarves had been created in secret. Unlike the elves, they were unwanted. They had been forced to live their lives hidden from the sight of others who deemed them unworthy. So they hid. The delved deep into the rock where the elves dared not go. They forged for themselves a life worth living. They took comfort in their people and their people alone. For they only had each other and that was all they needed. If others did not want them, they would not have them. This was the life of the dwarves. A secret life. History and Home passed down sacredly from generation to the next.

_'The fire was red, it flaming spread,_

_The trees like torches blazed with light.'_

Then the dragon came. And destroyed everything. The home and pride of their ancestors taken from them without cause or concern for justice or reason. They were forced out of their home and condemned to wander in the light. Open to the accusing eyes of those who dwelt in the light. They received no help, nor sympathy from anyone. The dragon's mocking laugh echoing behind them as they fled. And they never forgave. And they never forgot.

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**Next chapter starts the adventure! Again... Don't worry though, I'll trying my hardest not to just repeat stuff over and over again. That would get boring.**

**Alex: Thank you for the review! And yes, I've got that figured out. The connection between someone and their One is established through touch and this time M and Kili haven't touched yet. But it is going to get complicated. Very, very, very complicated... **

**I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!**


	25. Chapter 25: Realizations

Light had not yet begun to peek over the hills when I was stirred awake. Miley was tapping my shoulder urgently and I quickly opened my eyes. Kili and I had fallen asleep next to each other it would seem, for we were leaning against each other, hands still intertwined. Miley seemed very on edge. I slowly removed myself from Kili's side and followed Miley over a little way away where there were less snoring dwarves.

"What is it?" I asked in a hushed tone, blinking away the grogginess of sleep.

"M's still not back." Miley fretted a little.

"I told you it would be fine." I sighed. But Miley's expression told me that she would not be able to relax. Had she been this worried last time? Surely not. Then again... "Fine, get everything you need to pack. And write a note or something so they don't worry that we've gone." Miley smiled in visible relief before hurrying off to find parchment and ink. I grabbed my bow and quiver from where I had left them by the door and headed outside to wait. I had not expected to find Thorin standing outside, looking over the shire in silence. After staring for a moment, I closed the door behind me and walked past him, not bothering to give him any sort of acknowledgement as I headed down the stone steps and hopped over the wicker fence.

"What is your interest with my nephew?" Thorin's voice called from behind me. I stopped and looked up the steps at him.

"He is my One." I replied casually. "And I am his. Nothing more." Which wasn't entirely true, because I was, of course, trying to make sure that the past me did not fall in love with him as well.

"You say that with certainty." Thorin noticed. "Does he agree?"

"You can ask him yourself if you don't believe me." I replied, raising my chin slightly so that he could see my eyes under my hood. "I know you wouldn't take my word on the matter. I am a stranger whom you do not know, nor trust. Why should you believe me?" Thorin nodded and turned once again to stare at the horizon. End of conversation.

I waited awkwardly for a few minutes until Miley came out at last, slipping a knife into her pocket that probably came from Bilbo's kitchen.

"Good Morning." She nodded to Thorin as she passed, joining me on the other side of the gate. "She we go?"

"Follow me." I started down the slope. The dirt path was familiar. I just had to trust that I would remember which way I went before.

The first rays of sun had begun to peek over the hills. Fortunately, M wandered to us in her attempt to get back to Bag End. She was completely covered in twigs and mud and looked very worn out. Which probably had something to do with the grinning blonde haired ghost floating above her head.

"M, where on earth have you been?" Miley asked in relief, rushing over to her to give the girl a quick hug.

"Getting some fresh air." M replied blandly.

"Well, we better head back now before the others decide to leave without us." The tall red head sighed starting back towards Bag End.

"Hey, can you see this?" M asked, pointing to the ghost above her head. Rina cheerfully waved at the two of us.

"What?" Miley asked in confusion. I focused back on the road ahead of us. I may not be the brightest tool in the shed, but I wasn't stupid either. The less similarities between us, the better.

"Nevermind." M sighed, following us back up the path.

"Told you." I could hear Rina chuckle behind me. "Most people can't see me. Or hear me for that matter."

"Great, so now it'll look like I'm talking to myself?" M mumbled sourly.

"Pretty much." Rina chirped happily. The walk back seemed much quicker than the walk there, still the sun was mostly visible when we got back and the dwarves were just coming out of Bag End and heading out to where they had kept the ponies. Right… the ponies. The dwarves called to us as we approached asking where we had been and such.

"Just went out for a morning walk." Miley replied cheerily. "I don't know how you all can sleep so long."

Kili fell into step with me as we joined the group. "Good morning." He smiled.

"And to you." I replied politely. And we fell into a silence. I never was very good with small talk. I felt a slight tugging on my hand as his wrapped around mine. I could feel his emotions pour into me. Excitement, cheerfulness, fear. The beginning of the quest to reclaim Erebor. It was a big moment for him. For all the dwarves really. Miley was barely containing her excitement as well, being such a big fan of the book and all. M, on the other hand, looked awful. Considering she had not rested at all the night before and there was now a chatterbox ghost following her around, one could only expect so much.

"What's bothering you?" I was jolted from my thoughts and looked at Kili in surprise.

"Nothing's bothering me." I lied. And Kili knew it. "Alright, well there is _something_. But it's nothing important. I'm fine."

"You're sure?"

"No, I'm lying so that you stop asking questions." I rolled my eyes sarcastically. "Of course I'm sure!" We walked in silence for a little while as the others carried on around us merrily. Everyone was in high spirits to begin. Almost everyone, anyway. I slipped my hand out of Kili's and distanced myself a bit, ignoring his questioning glance.

I did this because a thought had occurred to me. A thought that I did not want to have while others was reading my emotions. That night, I had slept. I had actually been asleep. It wasn't the normal gray haze of not awake that I usually had in books. I had slept.

I wasn't sure for certain what this meant, but it meant something. And I had a feeling that it wasn't good.

Then we arrived at where the ponies had been tethered and began loading the beasts of burden with our supplies. Then the dwarves began mounting. Kili offered me a hand up, but I declined.

"Come on." I said to M with my accent. "We're walking."

"You've got to be joking." M looked at me like I was crazy. I had to agree.

"Nope. I'm completely serious." I replied starting off after the line of ponies that were beginning to form.

"Why would we walk?" M hissed at me, jogging to catch up. "Ponies can carry more than one person you know." To emphasize, Miley and Fili trotted past us, giving us confused glances.

"I know. But it's a good experience." I don't know what I was thinking. I was supposed to be making us seem as different as possible, not single us out from the rest! I guess… it was because I had seen what I was like before, and what I was like now. And I liked who I was now much better. So maybe I could still help my other self to improve as well.

Bilbo was the only one who stayed with us at the back even while the others left us behind. Though, we did a good bit of helping him control his pony as well. He had almost no experience before and was developing an allergic reaction. Rina occupied herself by making faces at Bilbo. She tried making faces at me too, but I sent her a sharp glare and she stopped. I think she was a bit shocked.

"Can we take a rest now?" M groaned for the millionth time. I was panting as well in my attempt to match the ponies pace. It had been so much easier when I was zoned out and stuff.

At last, Thorin called to make camp and both M and I collapsed to the ground exhausted.

"What _were_ you two thinking?" Miley frowned, casting a shadow over us in the fading light.

"That's what I'd like to know." M glared at me sourly.

"Building character." I puffed, standing tiredly.

"Well why didn't you make _Miley_ walk?" The other me demanded.

"Because she wouldn't last." I explained.

"Excuse me?" Miley raised an eyebrow.

"No offense, but it's… true." I had caught Thorin's eye across the camp. I excused myself from the other two and walked over to the dwarf lord. "Something you want?" I asked, a bit brusquer than I intended.

"I spoke with Kili." Thorin said.

"And?" I replied.

"He agrees that you are his One."

"Well there you go then." I sighed.

"I am not convinced." Thorin growled.

I glared back at him. "Slap me then."

"What?"

"Slap me. Or punch me, whatever." Thorin continued to stare at me. "Cause some physical harm to me and it'll convince you." He seemed to not like that idea. "Fine, then. I'll do it myself." I walked over to Fili, grabbed one of his… I mean her knives, and before she could get too worked up, I turned toward Thorin meaningfully and slit myself across the palm.

It hurt a lot more than I expected it to. Enough so, that I let out a gasp of pain. At the exact same time, Kili let out a surprised cry of pain and stared in horror at his hand. At the exact same time, M let out a surprised cry of pain and looked at her hand. I looked up at M in alarm. Oops. Didn't expect that to happen.

The camp filled with voices of confusion and worry as everyone asked Kili and M what the matter was. Only Thorin and Fili were looking at me. And both of them knew something was up.

Kinda very not good at all. Crap.

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**Gosh geez wizzzz... I have no idea how I'm gonna write myself out of this one. *weeps silently* **

**Hope this was a good chapter!**


	26. Chapter 26: Facing the Truth

**I must make a quick confession. There was a different version of this chapter where Nimm and Kili got married. But I really hated the way it turned out. It was very depressing. So I rewrote. I hope you enjoy this new outcome!**

* * *

I stood very still for a moment as confusion continued through the camp. Kili and M expected their hands for wounds as my trembled as I attempted to mask my own. Thorin turned towards me angrily.

"Explain."

"I…" my mind scrambled for an explanation. An excuse, anything. "M and I are…" I couldn't think of anything. What _had_ happened? "Sisters." The word popped out of my mouth without a second thought.

"Really?" Fili said from behind me, her eyes narrowed in accusation.

"It's true I defended myself quickly, growing away of how many more pairs of eyes were on us."

"What?" Oh no. "We aren't sisters." I turned again to see M glaring feet away from me, holding her hand closely to her.

"Wait… no…"

"Nimm?" Kili asked in confusion.

"No, this isn't… there's an explanation." I tried to reassure everyone.

"Then let's hear it!" Thorin barked.

"But-"

"What seems to be the problem?"

"You don't understand-"

"Who _are_ you?" My blood ran cold as I turned to look at M once more. I could feel fear pouring off her in waves. Who was I?

"You all wouldn't understand." I said at last. "It's a Valar thing…" My voice trailed off as I turned in circles into pair after pair of distrusting eyes.

"Nimm…" Miley's voice broke into the silence. "Cat's out of the bag." I turned to her, feeling my shoulders tremble uncontrollably. Her eyes were fearful, but full of sympathy. I hated it. "We're not getting out of this one."

"What does she mean?" Thorin demanded. I inhaled slowly before letting out a long breath, trying to calm myself down and prepare myself for whatever would come next. In the back of my mind, I was aware of Gandalf watching in the background. When I reached the end of my exhalation, I raised my arms to my face, removed my mask, and lowered my hood. I heard Miley take a sharp inhale. Apparently she had not been expecting my new hairstyle. There must have been something in dwarf culture about haircuts as well. I didn't need to have a connection to see the unease in their eyes… the disgust.

Thorin snorted. "And what does this have to do with what just happened?"

I turned to look at him, a white pale face with smudged, streaks of blue across. "A person and their One have a connection. One that binds their feelings to each other. The most powerful feelings, such as pain, can be felt over longer distances. Or so it would seem." Thorin looked to Balin for verification.

"It's not always the case." Balin sighed. "But sometimes, yes… this is true."

"So that would explain why Kili got hurt." Fili gritted her teeth. "But what about her?" she jerked her thumb at M.

"Yeah, what about me?" M hissed.

I took another deep sigh. "Well, there's one person that someone would be more strongly connected to than even their One." I started, trying to moisten my dry mouth.

"And who would that be?" Thorin asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Themself."

"What does that even mean?" Fili asked immediately. I let out a sigh of frustration. There I was being all awesome and dramatic and _someone_ had to go and ruin it!

"It means…" I hissed lowly. "That SHE…" I stomped over to M. "Is ME." I pointed at myself.

Well, that had them all stunned. After the silence continued for long enough that it was beginning to feel really rather awkward, I turned to Miley. "Now, see? _This_ is why I said not to tell them. It just makes everything unnecessarily complicated!"

"Well you couldn't have pulled it off anyway." Miley pointed out.

"Yeah, maybe…" I sighed.

"W-what… what do you mean?" M's broken voice squeaked out. "How are you… me?" How? Good question. Only good one you've ever asked.

"Are you going to answer her?" Miley asked me. "Or will I have to do it myself?"

"You _knew_ about this?" M rounded on her roommate.

"Yeah, of course I told her." I rolled my eyes. "And I told her not to tell you."

"Why?" M demanded, turning back to me. "Why would you… who ARE you?" I stepped up to her and looked her in the eye. And she looked into mine. They were my eyes. Like looking through a mirror. But this time, I really _looked_ at myself. My face was tired. Not from the recent adventure, just tired in general. It was an old face. One that had lost the wonder of youth.

"I'm about to do something possibly very dangerous." I said quietly to my other self.

"What?" M made a face. Before she could move away, I quickly ungloved my hand and touched her fingers with my own. Nothing happened. I breathed out a sigh of relief as M yanked her hand away quickly. "What were you thinking?" she snapped. "You could have imploded the world or something!"

"But I didn't." I smiled weakly.

"Everyone get back to work!" Thorin barked, turning away quickly. "We set out at sunrise." The dwarves quietly returned to their work. I moved to go help as well, but Miley stopped me.

"Don't you think you should get M up to date?" she suggested.

"Oh… right…" I scratched the back of my head before pulling my hood and mask back up. I had gotten accustomed to the safety it brought me. "Come on." I motioned to M before heading off away from the group.

We walked in silence, our paces unconsciously matching each other. Even the way we walked was practically identical. After we got a good distance away from the others, I slumped to the ground. M stayed standing off to the side.

"So…" she spoke at last. "What happened? Are you… my future? Am I gonna have to go through all of this _again_?"

"No, you shouldn't have to." I shook my head. "I'm from… a different future… I guess. When I was going through this the first time, there was a slight accident and I died."

"Nothing that hasn't happened before." M snorted.

"Yeah, I know that." I snapped.

"So how did you end up here?" M pushed.

I let out a long sigh. "Something went wrong obviously. Miley didn't come out of the book like she was supposed to. She _never_ came out."

"What? Why?"

"I don't know!" I said defensively. "I don't know any more than you! Well… a little more. But not much. Anyway, I went back into the book, thinking that maybe I could pick up where I left off."

"But you didn't." The other me guessed.

"Obviously." I rolled my eyes. "I ended up at the beginning with Miley and the other me... you."

"And why didn't you just tell me straight off?" She asked, sounding a little betrayed.

"You'd have done the same thing in my place!"

"It doesn't matter." M snapped. "Why did _you _do it?"

"Because I needed to make sure you didn't kill yourself and trap Miley here again! It's enough with two of us running around, do you really want another?"

"I guess it's turned into a mess already." M huffed. "What will you do once we reach the end?" she asked. "I'm not gonna give up my life if that's what your expecting. You're on your own."

"Actually…" I frowned. "I don't think it'll be a problem."

"Why not?"

"Because in Bag End… I slept."

"You mean like… _sleep_ sleep?"

"Yes, I _actually_ slept."

"But that means-"

"I don't know _what_ it means. But it means I'm not getting home. Most likely I'll just disappear without a trace." An empty feel gnawed away at my stomach as the realization dawned on me. "Which leads me to my next order of business." M looked at me questioningly. "Kili is _mine_. My One. Got it?"

"What makes you think _I_ like him?" M made a face.

"My god. Are you seriously trying to lie to yourself? You forget M; I know exactly how you feel about him. When your not to busy trying to convince yourself otherwise, that is." M blushed and looked away in embarrassment. "Just think about it." I groaned. "You're going to be leaving at the end anyway. It's a relationship doomed to end it misery, so why make it worse."

"How is it any different for you?" M asked, reserved.

"Because, in most chances, my whole existence is doomed to end in misery." What a cheery conversation. "Listen, it shouldn't be a problem as long as you _don't _touch him. Got it? There needs to be some sort of physical contact to establish the connection. So if we can prevent that, it'll be easier on everyone."

"Fine." M grumbled. "So our cover story is still active?"

"Yeah… I think. Things are going to get a lot more complicated."

"You can say that again."

_I looked up from the stew Bombur had made. M and Nimm were still talking. Their silhouettes were slowly disappearing into the gloom of night. The shouting had stopped at least. But I looked at them and finally understood… they were the same person. It was strange, to say the least. _

_And then, of course, there were the dwarves. Not one of them had said a word and it was starting to scare me. Kili especially. His eyes seemed glazed over and confused. Is this what happened when I… told them it was a book? Or tell them it was a book. But I wouldn't tell them now, right? I knew it was a bad idea. I had been warned._

_Gandalf came to stand next to me. "Now, my dear, I believe a few explanations are in order." I looked around to see all the dwarves looking at me questioningly. So this is what Nimm had felt. Alone. _

_"We wait for my friends." I said stubbornly, casting my eyes to the ground._

_"Very well." Gandalf nodded, nodding to Thorin as well, a reminder not to get too worked up. The dwarf lord seemed less than pleased with the whole situation. We all went about eating in silence until, after a small eternity, M and Nimm walked over, a noticeable distance between them. _

_M immediately noticed the silence I turned a questioning gaze towards me. Nimm may have, but her face was too hidden to tell, she just walked through the dwarves, who all looked away, before coming to sit on a tree root. Nimm glared out from underneath the shadow of her hood with eyes burning with an unspoken challenge._

_I took a deep breath, inhaling the tension as well and turned to Gandalf. "Alright then. What is it you want to know?"_

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***starts singing* This story is falling down,**

**Falling down,**

**Falling down!**

**This story is falling down!**

**My fair lady!**

**...Seriously though... these characters... they just... just... ughhhhhhhhh! I've confused _myself _*goes insane***

**(I have officially decided _not_ to write author notes right after writing the chapter. It's bad for my health.)**


	27. Chapter 27: Dreams and Consequences

The company sat around the fire, the dwarves on one side, the three of us on the other, and Gandalf at the side. Night wrapped around the little encampment as Miley began to speak.

"We are not Maiar." She began. "We come from another world very unlike this one." The dwarves listened in silence. "And in that world, we have great powerful prophets. They write down tales from other worlds. That's how we found out about your quest. But something went wrong. And it started with this quest. The fate of our world and many others revolves around what will happen here. And so, we have been sent to make sure everything is set right." There was a quiet as the others absorbed this information. I must admit though, Miley was a natural when it came to spinning tales. She based her lies off reality, warping her words to give the story a ring of truth that could not be denied.

"How did you arrive here?" Gandalf asked, a tone of pure interest.

"M… and Nimm, have the ability to use the prophecies as a sort of portal. A link between worlds." Miley replied without hesitation.

"Why did you not tell us the truth from the beginning?" Thorin asked, distrust edging his words.

"You would not have believed us." Miley shook her head with a slight smile.

"People more readily accept ideas that are familiar to them." M nodded.

"Hence, we called ourselves Maiar to gain your trust." Miley continued. "It was not a noble notion, but our intentions were pure."

"In your eyes." Thorin replied. "So tell me, you travel with us, but what is the outcome of this quest that you desire?"

"This quest must succeed." Miley said, determination burning in her eyes. "The dragon must fall and Erebor must be reclaimed."

Thorin watched her closely, examining her whole person before nodding. "Then I will accept your aid upon this quest. But it is not your quest. You will do as I say. You may suggest other courses of action, only remember, I have the final word." Miley nodded in acceptance. "Now we shall discuss this." He turn to M and I.

"When we die, we only return to our own world." I explained. "I die, I teleport again, voila, two of me."

"It makes sense." M admitted with a shrug.

"That's not what I was referring to." Thorin said, pointedly not looking at me.

Balin explained to Miley and M, who were equally confused. "It is shameful to travel with one who has cut their hair."

"_What?_" I asked. He had to be joking.

"Hair is cut as a warning to others." Balin continued to the other two.

"A warning about what?" Miley frowned.

"That the person has committed a serious crime. One worthy of exile."

"It is not the same in our world." Miley assured the dwarves. But they did not seem convinced.

"It would seem, lass." Balin said to M. "That you will commit horrid crimes in your future."

"Futures can be changed." M replied stiffly.

"Besides, she _didn't_ do anything." Miley defended us. "Customs on our world are different. Cutting your hair is no crime or cause for shame. Nimm didn't do anything… right?" She looked to me, waiting for me to back up her claim.

I surveyed the faces of the dwarves. None looked at me. Not even Kili. "What if I did?" Miley gasped quietly as the dwarves muttered angrily.

"I cannot travel with such a person." Dwalin shook his head.

"Neither can I." Gloin agreed as the others chorused their agreement.

"She will not be allowed to travel with us." Thorin said to Miley.

"What? Nimm!" Miley shook her head in confusion.

"I never said I _did_ do anything." I rolled my eyes. "I was just asking what would happen if I had done something? You all can relax." They didn't relax, but they did quiet down.

"How do we know she's not lying?" Thorin addressed Miley.

"She wasn't." M replied. Everyone looked at her. "What? She's me after all. I know what happens when she lies. I know how she would act, and she wasn't acting like that."

"And how would that be?" Thorin asked.

"She would look at the sky or the ground." M replied. "But she wasn't, she was looking straight at you."

"There you have it then." Miley beamed. "Innocent."

The company seemed unsure, but Thorin nodded. "As long as she keeps her hood pulled up."

"Don't worry, I was planning on it." I snapped, turning Miley. "Are we done here? I need some air." Without waiting for an answer, I rose and strode off.

I should have gone to sleep like the others, or gone and talked to Kili to make sure we were still okay, but I was too irritable. Too irritable that they would judge someone so quickly, just upon the length of their hair. How could they be so… so…. Urgh.

Deep breath in. Deep breath out. I calmed myself, one breath after another. They came from a different world, that meant they viewed things differently. It wasn't their fault. I was getting worked up for no reason. As I traveled deeper and deeper into the woods, the calmer I felt. My frustration and anger slipped away with the distance.

It wasn't something I was used to, but I appreciated it. I dipped my toes in a quiet stream the water swirled around in a beautiful fashion. The night air was brusque and refreshing. I was completely relaxed. Until Rina appeared right in front of me.

Which lead to me sort of freaking out and falling into the river while she cackled above me, her ghost hair drifting away into nothingness.

"That was mean." I complained as I pulled myself out of the water.

Rina smirked back. "But priceless. The name's Rina, nice to meet you." She extended her hand to me. I looked at for a moment before looking back up at the ghost's smiling face. "Don't they shake hands in your world?"

"They do." I nodded. "But shaking a ghost's had is a bit pointless."

Rina frowned. "I don't like you, you're no fun."

"You've pulled that one on me before." I replied.

"So you really are the same person!" She grinned.

"Afraid so."

"Amazing."

"Yep."

"Aye."

"…"

"…"

"Alright, what do you want?"

"Okay, so you know Ori, right?"

I groaned inwardly as the ghost watched me with hopeful eyes. "Maybe…" I admitted, knowing full well what I was getting myself into.

Rina's smile was scarily bright.

She chattered constantly on the way back to camp. And as we traveled back, I felt the feeling of anger and betrayal rise again. It didn't make sense. I was over the way they had treated me before. And Rina wasn't that annoying.

It was as I entered the clearing of camp and could feel my emotions peaking in frustration did I realize what was happening.

My eyes focused on the back of a certain dark haired, dwarven, archer. That was where these feelings were coming from. This anger… this betrayal. Why did I have the feeling that his anger was directed at me? Emotions strong enough I could feel them so far away. Everyone was asleep. I should be asleep too.

"Rina, I'm not going to wake Ori up. You can talk to him tomorrow." I said, curling up on a softer patch of grass.

"What? Why?" Rina wined.

"Because people need sleep." I replied, putting my hands over my ears. Rina just spoke louder.

"But I want to talk to himmmm!"

"Tomorrow." I hummed as I slipped into sleep. Real, honest, sleep…

_You must tell Miley. She cannot hear. She cannot sleep. You must tell her._

_'When the beginning, middle, and end of life converge upon the field of ice, then is the time to act.'_

_Our fate rests in her. You must tell Miley._

The words echoed in my mind as I drifted back to consciousness. It was once again early morning. Half the camp was still asleep and dozing peacefully. A few of the dwarves were up already, starting to break down the camp and cooking breakfast. Bofur was heating up last night's stew before we hit the rode.

I looked around casually for Kili. The archer was nowhere in sight, nor his sister.

"Where are Kili and Fili?" I asked Dori. The dwarf did not answer for a moment; continue about his task, binding his bedroll. Then, after a long silent pause, he replied, still not looking at her. "They're out hunting."

"Great, thanks." I mumbled, leaving quickly as to allow the dwarf to continue his work in peace. Not having to worry about the 'strange shameful shorthaired person'. Instead, I turned outwards, searching through the woods for and signs of young dwarves. Nothing.

I returned to the camp, seeing that the others had begun eating. Miley smiled at me as I walked over, and M acknowledged my presence at least. But the others all ignored me. Fine. If they wanted to be like that, then fine. I sat down heavily next to Miley.

"I had a dream last night." I said to her so no one else but M could hear. "It was a… message. For you, it told me to tell you something."

Miley looked at me in interest. "Really? Who was it from? What was it?"

"I don't know who…" I shook my head. The voice was a little familiar but I couldn't place it. "But it said… 'When the beginning, middle, and… uh end I think… meet somewhere you have to like… act or something?' Sorry, I can't remember it right."

"That's okay…" Miley nodded, in thought. "Keep trying your best to remember and I'll see if I can make sense of any of it." I smiled in reply and stood to get some breakfast. Of course, at that moment, I could feel a sense of hurt increasing within me. Kili was back. I looked up to see the young dwarf and his sister come in from the woods a few rabbits hanging from their hands.

"Good catch?" Dwalin asked them as they dropped off the tiny corpses.

"Aye." Fili nodded. "It's good to hunt now, before we reach the mountains. It'll be much harder then."

"We will depart soon!" Thorin called out. "Make sure everything is packed." Kili was tightening a pack to his pony when I approached him.

"We need to talk." I said to him, trying my best to keep the angry waves from effecting my own emotions. He did not look at me at first, or even acknowledge my presence. Giving the belt of the saddle one last, stern tug, He stopped and sighed through his nose, staring straight ahead.

"Fine." He said at last. And I followed him a little away from the others so we would not be overheard.

We stood a distance apart in silence for a bit until I realized he wasn't going to say the first word. "What's bothering you?" A blunt approach was properly best in this situation.

"What makes you think I'm bothered about something?" Kili set his jaw, looking away.

"Really?" I raised an eyebrow underneath my hood. "It's as obvious as Gandalf's eyebrows."

Kili said nothing.

"So, why are you angry?"

This made him laugh. But not in a pleasant way, it was cold and mocking. The laugh of someone so fed up with everything that they can't even take it seriously any more. And it was hurt.

"Why?" he asked condescendingly. "You're asking me _why_?" I frowned. "You _lied_ to me Nimm… that's not even your name! Mahal, I don't know anything about you! Were you lying about being my One also? At this point, it wouldn't even surprise me!"

"You _know_ that isn't a lie." I said firmly.

"Do I? DO I?" He was yelling now, bearing down at me, chest heaving in anger.

"Well, I _thought _you did." I snapped back my own emotions boiling off of his own.

"You probably just used me to get Thorin's trust!" Kili gestured angrily back at camp, arm flailing dangerously. "I was just a _pawn_ to be used, wasn't I?"

"No, Kili-"

"Stop." He gritted his teeth. "No more lies. No more hiding." Before I could move, he threw off my hood and yanked down my mask. "I want the truth. All of it."

My white, blue-streaked face glare back at his. "I can't _tell_ you all of it! It's not something I have any say over!"

"And you expect me to _trust_ you? All you do is_ lie_!" Kili barked, grabbing my forearm angrily.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" the words flew from my mouth instantly as my body jerked away, ripping myself from him. The whole clearing was still as rock; surely everyone had been watching us. But I didn't pay it any notice as I forced myself to breath properly. The entire time, Kili's eyes were on me, watching, thinking, hating, pitying.

It was M who broke the stillness. She rose and came over to us, put a cautious hand on my shoulder and pulled me back. "Remember," she spoke in low tones. "It's in the past."

"I know." I hissed quietly, eyes lingering on the ground.

"Then pull yourself together."

I swallowed and forced myself to take deep breaths. In and out. Miley came over as well, a questioning look on her face.

"She'll be fine." M said.

"I'll be fine." I repeated, moving stiffly away from of M's touch.

"Alright…" Miley frowned. "I go ask Thorin if it's time to leave." M nodded and left, but not before giving Kili a sharp glare. I sent her a sharp glare as well. This wasn't Kili's fault. It was _my_ problem. And _her_ problem, there was no reason to get all high and mighty about it.

The dwarven archer turned to leave in silence.

"I'm sorry." I whispered to his back.

I thought he hadn't heard it, but then he paused and said back. "I know." And he left to where the others were mounting their ponies.

* * *

**So... that turned out differently than I had planned, but Evangeline Pond got in my head and the story altered. **

**Evil is at work :D oh yes mwahahahahahahahahahahaa**

**Hope you enjoyed it!**


	28. Chapter 28: Redumption

Traveling that day was slow and quiet.

The others talked in hushed voices, but I was ignored, shunned even. So I hid under my hood and rode behind M. She and Miley were the only ones who would ride and I didn't really feel like walking again today. But as we rode, I found M to grow increasingly annoying. Just the way she breathed was annoying. And the way she talked with Miley. Was I really like that? I couldn't be.

As the day wore on, my body grew stiffer and stiffer. And my nerves got more one edge. I was going to freak out if I didn't find some way to calm down. What did other people do to calm down? I wracked my brain through stories I had been in and finally came to 'The Hunger Games'. That was it. Slowly, I opened my mouth and began to sing.

'_Are you, Are you,_

_Coming to the tree?_

_They strung up a man,_

_They say who murdered three._

_Strange things have happened here_

_No stranger would it be,_

_If we met _

_At mid-_

_Night in the hanging tree._'

It was after the first verse that I noticed the others had begun to quiet a bit. But no one complained, so I continued.

'_Are you, Are you,_

_Coming to the tree?_

_Where dead men called out_

_For his love to flee._

_Strange things have happened here_

_No stranger would it be,_

_If we met_

_At mid-_

_Night in the hanging tree._'

Everyone had stopped talking by now, and Miley had begun to hum in the background quietly.

'_Are you, Are you,_

_Coming to the tree?_

_I told you to run,_

_So we'd both be free._

_Strange things have happened here_

_No stranger would it be,_

_If we met_

_At mid-_

_Night in the hanging tree._'

Both Miley and I grew louder as the song continued, swaying softly with the tune.

'_Are you, Are you,_

_Coming to the tree?_

_Wear necklace of hope,_

_Side by side with me._

_Strange things have happened here_

_No stranger would it be,_

_If we met _

_At mid-_

_Night in the hanging tree._

_Are you, Are you,_

_Coming to the tree?_

_I told you to run,_

_So we'd both be free._

_Strange things have happened here_

_No stranger would it be,_

_If we met _

_At mid-_

_Night in the hanging tree._'

And then Miley and M started singing with me, both of them knew the song just as well as I did, after all.

'_Are you, Are you,_

_Coming to the tree?_

_They strung up a man,_

_They say who murdered three._

_Strange things have happened here_

_No stranger would it be,_

_If we met _

_At mid-_

_Night in the hanging tree._

_Are you, Are you,_

_Coming to the tree?_

_Where dead man called_

_ Out for his love the flee._

_Strange things have happened here_

_No stranger would it be,_

_If we met _

_At mid-_

_Night in the hanging tree._'

And as the last words drifted away on the gentle breeze, it occurred to me how similar it was to the dwarves' song in Bag End.

There are few things more powerful than a group of people singing a song straight from memory… straight from the heart. A hidden smile slipped over my face as I sat on the back of the pony.

No one said anything about it, but when the quiet chatting resumed, it seemed a tad bit lighter… happier.

I watched as we passed through the rocky, narrow incline where I had awoken before. That had been such a nasty fall. And it felt like ages ago. How could it have felt so long? It was only a few months after all.

The sun had begun to slip beneath the mountains when we stopped to make camp. It was the ledge between cliff face and cliff ledge where Balin had once told the story of Thorin's battle with the pale orc. Azog. And Rina said he was still alive. Camp was set up quickly, dinner was made and served with the rabbits caught that morning and everyone settled down for sleep, except for Fili who was on watch. And Kili seemed restless as well.

Swallowing anxiously, I walked over to stand next to him. "You want to talk about this yet? Or do you need some more time still?"

Kili didn't answer for a bit, absorbed in whatever he was doing. "I need some more time." Right… okay then. "But I suppose it's time to get over this. Alright." He stood reluctantly and we walked over to the edge of the cliff and sat down.

"I lied to you." I said immediately. Kili nodded in agreement. "And still I am keeping secrets from you."

"Why?"

"Kili, I _died_." I glared into dark brown eyes. "If you died and didn't have any secrets, I'd honestly be amazed."

"Why can't you just tell me the truth?" Kili asked, hurt engraved into his voice. "I don't even know who you are."

"You don't know my name." I nodded in agreement. "Or where I'm from, or anything about me. But you know _who_ I am."

"Aye, a lying, manipulative, untrusting freak." Kili spat, looking out over the trees again.

My gaze dropped to the ground. "Yeah… see? You know exactly who I am." The air was split with an unearthly cry. It echoed across surroundings sending shivers down my spine.

"Orcs." Kili whispered to the wind beside me. My silence was my only reply. I only looked up when I felt my hood disappear off my head. I found a hand open in front of me. I looked up at Kili questioningly. "The name's Kili, son of Dis, it's a pleasure to meet you."

I laughed despite myself, a smile creeping into my eyes. "Nice to meet you Kili, I'm Mary Sue, but you can just call me Nimm." I accepted his hand to shake it, but instead he carefully raised it to his lips and planted a small kiss on the back of it.

"Beautiful name." he smiled at me.

I laughed and retrieved my hand again. "Well looks like someone's used to being smooth with the ladies." Normally, I would get annoyed, but I decided it was probably not the best time for that, so I let it roll.

"Only the beautiful ones." Kili winked, unable to hold back a genuine smile. "So, where are you from Nimm?"

"Oh you know," I shrugged, "Just the next world over. You?"

"Well, I've lived my life in Ered Luin… that's a dwarven kingdom in the Blue Mountains. But now I'm on a quest to reclaim my homeland from an evil dragon, so… if that goes well I'll be moving there."

"That's exciting."

"Aye. A bit."

"I'm currently homeless at the moment." I nodded. "I guess my world has strict policies about their being more than one of somebody, so… That's a thing." God, I was so bad at small talk. Not even two minutes and I managed to plunge the conversation into serious depressingness. Ughhhhh.

"That's unfortunate." Kili replied, all humor gone from his voice.

"Yeah…" I mumbled. "Yeah, just a bit." And a sad silence filled the air, broken only by the chirp of bugs and Bombur's snoring.

"You know this doesn't mean I forgiven you for lying." Kili spoke.

"It doesn't?" I frowned.

Kili shook his head. "But I am willing to give it another chance. A chance to earn my trust back."

"Thanks." I smiled sadly. "It's more than I deserve."

"Well," Kili shrugged. "No one's perfect."

"_That's_ an understatement." Kili's eyes lingered on me as I watched the breeze move the treetops like emerald waves of grain.

His voice was hesitant when he spoke again. "Can I… kiss you?"

I panicked at first, the mere suggestion bringing back shadows of past memories and horrors. But I stayed calm. For the most part anyway. It would be okay, right? He wasn't going to hurt me. I would be safe. I could trust him… I could. I hope I could.

"Okay…" I whispered. "You can."

Kili saw my hesitation clear as day. "If you don't want to-"

"No." I shook my head. "No, I…" A lump in my throat caught my words and I had to force it down. "I can't keep burying my past and letting it drag me down." Kili's hands found my mask in the night and lowered it. "Just… please be gentle"

It was soft, and warm, timid. Then our emotions fed off each other, building… growing. But as soon as the hint of lust was felt, I immediately backed away. It was scary though. I didn't know who's feeling it was.

"I'm sorry." Kili apologized immediately. "Did I-"

"We should probably get some sleep." I said quickly, yanking up my hood and turning away. And as I curled up to sleep, I tried to convince myself that the heat flooding my face wasn't because I was blushing, but because I was getting sick or something. I tried desperately.

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**Wow! They _finally_ kissed! in chapter... 28... hmmmmmm**

**Anyway! Please review! (Things are at work in the shadows)**


	29. Chapter 29: The Journey Continues

_You must tell Miley she cannot hear she cannot sleep you must tell her when the beginning middle and end of life converge upon the field of ice then is the time to act our fate rests in her you must tell Miley_

The voice rushed through my dreams, jumbled, anxious, desperate. I knew that voice. I was sure of it.

_Upon the Field of Ice_

My eyes shot open to the waning dark of night. The air was filled with crickets and the blowing of the breeze. No snoring. That was a nice thing about this group, even though they were a bunch of dirty men, they didn't snore too much. I couldn't stand snoring.

I sat up, successfully woken but whatever weirdo decided it would be fun to send me weird dreams every time I tried to sleep. Now I knew how Harry had felt in the fifth book. Never getting to rest properly. It must have driven him mad. Well… kinda.

Looking around, I came to the conclusion that it would still be a few hours till the others would start rising and we would hit the road again. I curled back up and tried to fall asleep again. But the crickets' chirps pounded against my skull like a marching band. I found myself getting up again and looking around once more, this time for one person in particular. I wasn't quiet aware of what exactly I was doing when I shuffled through the sleeping company before coming to stop next to a certain dark haired archer.

My feet had taken me here, but I was unsure what to do next. Awkwardly, I sat down about a foot away, my back against stone. And as I sat there, I found myself watching him with fascination. He breathed slowly in and out, his chest rising and falling like the tide.

A small smile slipped onto my face as I watched. Gentle rhythms, lulling me to sleep. The crickets became only noise in the background. Then he grumbled and rolled over in his sleep. The spell was instantly broken and I couldn't help but give a little snort of amusement. Of course he moved just as I was about to finally get some sleep.

But I lent back and closed my eyes anyway. And waited for sleep to claim me.

It didn't.

And I was very tired and extremely bored when the others began waking.

Thorin was the first one up. He glanced over at me once, and once only. As if checking to make sure I was still there. Or hoping I had disappeared in the night. Either way, it wasn't a very friendly glance. Then the others began waking one at a time. When Miley began to stir, I walked over to her and crouched by her head, waiting until she was functioning enough.

"M?" She asked in a blur, blinking up at me. "What is it?" Then she yawned and looked at me again. "Oh, Nimm. Was something the matter?"

"Upon the field of ice." I replied. She frowned in confusion. "That's what the voice said. 'When beginning, middle, and end of life converge upon the field of ice, then it is the time to act.' I had the dream again."

Miley quickly fought off her sleepy haze and sat up. "Was it exactly the same? The dream?"

"Yes, well… mostly." I nodded. "It seemed a little more… rushed?"

"Rushed?"

"Anxious."

Miley frowned. "That's probably not good."

"I thought the same thing."

"Well, I'll think about it." Miley said. "In the meantime, we should both keep an eye out for this 'field of ice' I don't remember anything about it in the book."

"I have a feeling the book isn't going to be very much help to us." I told her frankly.

"I have a feeling your right." She agreed.

"Breakfast's ready!" Bofur called to the company. Sausages were dispensed amongst the group. During which, Thorin and Gandalf were discussing the road ahead. It didn't sound like it was going well.

"Mount up!" Thorin ordered everyone suddenly. "We've wasted too much daylight as it is." Camp was quickly packed up and dwarves began swinging into their saddles. Kili trotted up beside me and offered a cautious hand. I accepted it and he pulled me up into the saddle in front of him.

"Why do you always get to steer?" I sighed in slight annoyance.

"Because he's my pony." Kili laughed, tugging on the reigns to fall in line with the others.

"He? I thought its name was Daisy?" I made a face.

"His name is Daisy." Kili defended himself. "Is there something wrong with that?"

"You haven't heard the worst of it." Fili said as she and Miley trotted up beside us. "We had a hunting dog back in Ered Luin for a few years. You wouldn't believe what he named it."

"What?" I asked.

"He named it _Barky_." Fili made a face.

"I wasn't even twenty!" Kili said in his own defense.

"And how long ago did you name Daisy?" Miley laughed.

Kili grumbled under his breath. "Two… years ago."

I swiveled in my saddle to give him an incredulous stare. "There's no way in hell, I'm letting you name our kids!"

There was a moment of silence in our little foursome before Kili and I simultaneously turned beet red and quickly looked away from each other in embarrassment. Fili and Miley had burst out laughing in the meantime. Jerks.

"That was beautiful!" Miley chuckled, wiping a tear away from the corner of her eye right before collapsing into another fit of giggles.

"Something you want to share with me brother?" Fili asked mockingly.

"Shove off it." Kili replied angrily. This only made the other two laugh even more.

"Just ignore them." I mumbled, the heat not yet gone from my face. "The more reaction you give, the longer it'll take for them to drop it."

"The looks on your two's faces though!" Fili laughed, sending Miley into another round of fits. Kili urged the pony faster in annoyance, leaving the cackling duo behind us.

The two of us then fell into an awkward silence, neither willing to be the first one to talk about what had just happened. Instead, we just busied ourselves with paying attention to everything else, from the conversations going on around us to the constant swishing of ponytails.

Up ahead, I saw M riding on the back of Ori's pony. The two of them seemed to be conversing with an overly eager Rina hovering right next to them, the hugest smile on her face. It made me smile as well under my hood. Just a tiny smile though. She was still super annoying.

"Sorry about that." I spoke suddenly.

"What?" Kili asked in confusion.

"Back there, what I said… I… I mean it's ridiculous! We just kissed once and I start spouting off all this nonsense and everything! I looked like an idiot back there and made you look like one to. So I just wanted to say… sorry." I let Kili have a chance to say something, but when he did not I filled the silence again. "I mean I really have no clue why I said that even! It's not like I even what kids or anything, especially not in this crazy world. I mean, not that _you're_ crazy. Just that this world is so different from mine. Obviously. Why would you think that _you_ were crazy? That just doesn't even make any sense. Not that you make no sense. I wasn't trying to imply that… Okay, I'm gonna shut up now." My face flushed once more in embarrassment as I hunched over, wishing to disappear completely. Then Kili started laughing and everything got like… ten times worse.

I sighed. "You're mean."

"I'm sorry." Kili tried through chuckles. "But you should have heard yourself."

"Good to know I'm everyone's laughing stock." I grumbled. Kili's response was leaning around and giving me a quick kiss on the cheek. Thankful it was quick and he straightened up again before I could get properly freaked out.

"Feel better now?" Kili asked.

"I almost took your nose off." I hissed at him.

Kili laughed again. "I'll take that as a yes."

"Seriously! Don't jump me like that."

"Right, right, sorry"

"You better be." Then it began to pour. I was thankful for my hood as bucket poured down from the treetops above. Then rain came, soaked everyone, dampened the company's moral, and promptly left. Thus leaving us all to sit in our drying clothes, which had turned uncomfortably stiff. My attention was drawn away from my currant predicament by the ruined house coming up in a clearing ahead. The trolls…

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**Is it a good thing or a bad thing that I have so many plans that I'm having trouble fitting the actual events into the story? I might have to skip Rivendell... hmmm**

**Reviews are always super appreciated!**


	30. Chapter 30: Coin Games

"We camp here for the night!" Thorin called out from the front. The ponies came to a halt and everyone began dismounting, unpacking, and making themselves busy. "Kili, Fili, mind to the ponies. Make sure you keep an eye no them." Kili huffed from next to me before grabbing Daisy's reign and leading her over to others. I chuckled and headed over to Miley and M.

"Murphy's law." Miley was winking at M.

"So when do we go and bust them for not watching their post?" the shorter inquired with a smirk.

"Eh, wait till after dinner." Miley shrugged. "I'm starving." M nodded before turning to see me walking over.

"Don't let them eat it all!" Kili called over his shoulder as he headed with his sister into the woods. I gave him a thumbs up before turning to M.

"I saw you talking to Ori."

"Just so Rina would stop pestering me." M rolled her eyes, angling her body away from me. "It wasn't too bad though. I explained to him about her and everything. I don't know if he believed me or not but who cares."

I nodded, looking over at Rina who was hovering next to Ori, a love-struck expression on her face.

M took that chance to get out of awkward conversation and go help set up camp. I chipped in a bit, noticing just how much I was looking around for Kili. At the same time, Gandalf came storming past after a conversation with the all-high lord of grump.

"Gandalf, where are you going?" Miley asked in worry.

"To seek the company of the only one around here with any sense!" the wizard grumbled.

Miley frowned further. "Who's that?"

"Myself Mr. Baggins!" Exit one wizard.

"Mr. Baggins?" M asked Miley in confusion. Miley just shrugged. I shook my head. Poor guy was having a break down.

I looked around aimlessly for a moment, seeing that dinner had been started, and made my way over to the woods. I found Kili and Fili lounging around. Fili was flipping coins to Kili, who looked at it and put it in his pocket.

Fili brought out another coin and flipped it. Kili caught it and looked at it. "Heads." He said, and stuck it in his pocket. Fili flipped another coin. "Heads" Kili reported. It happened again. "Heads." They looked utterly bored and I was about to approach them and start conversation, but something stopped me. I really wanted to know. What _had_ they been doing to miss a troll coming and stealing two ponies from under their noses? "Heads." Kili said again. The coin flipped. "Heads."

"There is an art to the building up of suspense." Fili said quite aimlessly.

A coin flipped. "Heads."

"Though it can be done by luck alone."

A coin flipped. "Heads."

"If that's the word I'm after."

"Seventy-six zip." Kili looked to his sister. Fili frowned slightly, looked at the next coin, and through it over her shoulder without any attention. Kili sighed and got up, moving over to the coin. "Heads."

Fili stared vacantly into the woods as Kili returned to his seat. "A weaker dwarf might be moved to re-examine her faith," Fili continued spontaneously. "If nothing else at least in the law of probability." She flipped another coin, while examining the scenery above her.

"Heads." Kili said.

"The law of probability…" Fili mused, loosing track of herself. "What is the law of probability?"

"Game?" Kili asked.

"Is it?" Fili looked at him in confusion.

"Are you?"

"Game." Fili nodded, understanding. She flipped another coin. "The law of averages, if I have got this right, means that if six goblins were thrown up in the air for long enough they would land on their tails about as often as they would land on their-"

"Heads." Kili finished for her, pocketing the coin.

"Which at first glance does not strike one as a particularly rewarding speculation, in either sense, even without the goblins. I mean you wouldn't _bet_ on it. I mean _I_ would, but _you_ wouldn't…" she flipped a coin.

"Heads."

"Would you?"

A coin was flipped. "Heads." Another coin, flipped. "Heads… getting a bit boring, isn't it?"

"Boring?" Fili asked coldly.

"Well…"

"What about the suspense?"

Kili merely shrugged.

Fili sighed and looked away for a moment before speaking again. "It must be the law of diminishing returns… I feel the spell is about to be broken!" She stood, taking out another coin, spinning it high into the air, catching it, and turning it onto the back of her hand. She peered at it before sighing and tossing it to Kili. She sat back down wearily. "Well, it was an even chance."

"Eighty-five in a row." Kili smiled though. "Beaten the record!"

"Don't be absurd." Fili sighed.

"Easily."

"Is that _it_, then?" Fili demanded. "Is that all?"

"What?"

"A new record? Is that as far as you're prepared to go?"

Kili rolled his eyes.

"No questions? Not even a pause?"

"You flipped em yourself."

"Not a flicker of doubt?"

"Well I _won_, didn't I?" Kili snapped back.

"But if you'd lost" Fili said, narrowing her eyes and whispering cryptically. "If they'd come down against you, eighty-five times, one after another, just like that?"

"Eighty-five in a row?" Kili scoffed. "Tails?"

"Yes! What would you think?"

"Well…" The younger pondered. "Well, I'd have a good look at your coins for a start."

Fili leaned back and sighed with relief. "At least we can still count on self-interest as a predictable factor… I suppose it's the last to go. Your capacity for trust made me wonder if perhaps… you alone…" She held out her hand. Kili stared at it for a moment before taking it. Fili pulled him closer, suddenly intense. "We have been spinning coins together since…" She released her brother almost as suddenly. "This is not the first time we spun coins!"

Kili laughed. "We've been spinning coins for as long as I can remember!"

"How long is that?" Fili asked curiously.

"I forget." Kili replied with a shrugged before adding. "Eighty-five times."

"Yes?"

"It'll take some time beating."

"Is that it?" Fili frowned. "Is that all? No _fear_?"

"Fear."

"Fear!" Fili shouted, fling another coin to the ground. "The crack that might flood your brain with light!"

Kili leaned over to look at the coin before picking it up and pocketing it. "Heads." Fili set her jaw before spinning another coin, letting it fall in front of her. She picked it up and tossed it to Kili. She took out another coin and turned it over on her hand before tossing it again to Kili. Growing desperate, she took out a third coin, spun it, caught it, turned it over on her opposite wrist, lobbed it into the air, caught it with the same hand, threw it under her leg, caught it again, and turned it over onto the top of her head. It sat there perfectly still as Kili rose and came over to look at it. Very slowly, he picked it up and put it in his pocket.

"I'm afraid…" he started.

"So am I." Fili frowned.

"I'm afraid it isn't your day."

"I'm afraid it is."

They paused in silence before Kili spoke again. "Eighty-nine."

"It must be indicative of something." Fili decided. "Besides the redistribution of wealth. Possible explanations. One: I'm willing it. Inside where nothing shows, I'm the essence of a dwarf spinning double headed coins, and betting against herself in private atonement for an unremembered past."

Kili snorted as another coin was flipped to him. "Heads."

"Two: time has stopped dead, and a single experience of one coin being spun once has been repeated ninety times…" she flipped a coin, looked at it, and tossed it to Kili. "One the whole, doubtful. Three: divine intervention. Four: a spectacular vindication of the principle that each individual coin spun individually," she spun one, "is as likely to come down heads as tails and therefore should cause no surprise that each individual time it does." It did. Kili pocketed it. And the two of them fell into silence. When it had grown obvious that they were not planning to continue their conversation, I approached, making just enough noise as to not startle them from their own introspections.

"What was that all about?" I asked them as they turned to acknowledge my presence.

"Fili doesn't like to lose." Kili replied with a smirk.

Fili rolled her eyes. "Hardly." Kili just laughed.

"Strange, I always thought of Kili as the emotional one." I chuckled.

"He is." Fili sighed. I laughed again as the two siblings launched into heated tussle. It ended with Kili in a headlock until Fili released him.

"I win, your turn to do rounds." The older smirked.

Kili grumbled and got up. "Care to join me Nimm?"

"Sure." I nodded. Kili started off towards the ponies, but when I moved to follow him, Fili stopped me. I raised an eyebrow questioningly at her and her obviously cross disposition. "Something wrong?"

She looked at me through dangerously narrowed eyes. "I told you when we first met… If you were lying to us, you'd regret it." I tried to hold her gaze. "You're just lucky you're his One, otherwise you wouldn't be standing here right now."

"Lucky for me then." I replied through gritted teeth, trying to move past again. But she held me back still.

"But just because you're his One, doesn't mean your safe. You hurt him, you put _one_ _foot_ out of line, and I'll make sure you regret it." She glared at me. I glared right back.

"Nimm, are you coming?" Kili called from up ahead.

"Yeah, I'll be right there!" I shouted back, still glaring at Fili.

"I'll be watching you." The dwarf nodded. I ripped myself out of her grasp and strode past her to where Kili was waiting for me to catch up.

"What was that?" Kili frowned.

"Just a little chat." I told him, as we fell into pace besides each other.

"Your bothered." He observed.

"I'll get over it."

"I can help if you want."

"Yeah, you can." I nodded in agreement. "But it's not really my… style…" I looked around the wooded pastures. "Hmmm."

Then Kili noticed it as well. "Well that isn't good."

"No… No it's not."

* * *

**Alright this was mostly a filler chapter, which is why I posted early. **

**Happy Easter everyone!**


	31. Chapter 31: How to Deal with Trolls

_M and I walked over into the woods, bowls in hand. I was still chuckling over the story Bofur had been telling me about his adventures as a child, even if he did forget a lot of it. _

_A nudge in my side brought me back to the present. I looked at her before following her gaze. Fili, Kili, and Nimm were staring into the woods in silence. I held back a grin. Trolls._

_"Something wrong?" M asked as we approached._

_Kili was the first to reply. His face was a perfect picture of dread. "We're supposed to be watching the ponies."_

_"Only we've encountered a… slight problem." Fili gave us a pained look._

_"We had nine."_

_"Now there are… seven."_

_"I felt like we had more than this." Nimm grumbled starting off into the woods._

_"Gandalf left with his, remember?" Kili said, following her. I looked at M and Fili before following as well, not bothering to leave the bowls of stew behind._

_"Daisy and Bungle are missing." Kili reported as we wandered through the glade, recounting the ponies._

_"Not Daisy!" Nimm said with disappointment. Though I couldn't tell if she was serious or not._

_"Well…" I sighed as I caught sight of something up ahead. "That isn't good." The five of us gathered before a fallen tree, it's roots freshly ripped from the ground. The air was filled with the smell of dirt and roots and rot._

_M turned to the other three, annoyance evident in her voice. "Do you think this might be a good time to, you know, tell someone?" They gave her a look of complete disapproval and turned back to the matter at hand. M rolled her eyes and stood back, arms crossed._

_"So, how far do you want this to go?" I jumped as Nimm appeared by my shoulder._

_"What?"_

_"The trolls. I can figure something out to get this over with relatively painlessly, but how much of this do you want to see?"_

_"Well…" I frowned. This had been a really fun part of the book. I couldn't remember why, but it was. "I'd like to see the trolls. Just get a look at them and that'll be fine I guess. It would be dangerous to do too much else." Nimm nodded her approval before turning back to the two dwarves who had just noticed a light up ahead._

"Trolls." Kili growled.

"There are three of them." I told them from behind the log. "Their going to eat them and…" I frowned, as memories of last time seemed to escape my memory. "They'll take two others. Over there!" Crashing and whining came from the woods to the side as a massive creature crashed around, trying to nab fleeing ponies. "Let's pick this one off away from the group. Lead him back to camp." Fili and Kili looked unsure but took off through the woods anyway. I was about to follow, but first I turned to M. "Take Miley towards the light that way so she can get a look at the other two. But both of you be _very_ careful. I don't want to have to come rescue your hides okay?" M stuck her tongue out at me but agreed, leading Miley off towards the trolls fire.

I tried to shake off the bad feeling as I turned to follow Kili and Fili. There was now a ruckus going on as the two dwarfs took turns hitting the lone troll then retreating, all the while throwing insults at it, goading it into following them. They were doing such a splendid job, in fact, that I decided to stay out of it in case I were to mess it up. Instead, I went ahead to warn the others.

I found the dwarves already on edge when I burst back into camp. Trolls were exactly quiet individuals when you think about it. Now that I was thinking about it… how _had_ Fili and Kili missed them? Even I was there…

"What is it lass?" Dwalin demanded, one hand already on his axe.

"There's a troll." And no sooner had I said so, did Kili and Fili burst in, the troll crashing through only moments later. But the dwarves were ready. The eight of them fell into a rhythm of pain and damage. The troll didn't stand a chance.

Call me lazy if you want, but there really was no reason to waste any effort on fighting myself. Besides, there were two more trolls to deal with. I inhaled sharply, looking over to see Kili go tumbling over the ground before getting back to his feet and charging again. I rubbed my ribs tenderly. I'd never experienced _that_ before. It was rather disconcerting. Randomly feeling pain. I wondered what was the exact point of it. The ground shook as the troll at last collapsed to the ground, sending a wave of putrid smell from it.

I clapped in the silence. "Good job! Now, there are just two more-" A huge pain filled my head like someone had just hit it with a club. I stumbled for a moment before looking quickly to Kili.

"Are you alright?" It took a moment for us to realize that we had said it at the same time.

"You stopped talking…" he explained.

"You… you're fine." I puzzled.

He nodded. "For the most part."

"Then why did I…" my words dropped away as I realized, "M." The pounding in my head grew more intense as I rushed through the forest. Obviously something had gone wrong. Why had I been so stupid? Stupid stupid! How could it have possibly worked out? Hey lets go sneak around the woods and go spy on two huge evil monsters! Sure sounds like fun! Idiot!

I tripped on a root and fell to the forest floor. This pain in my head was making it really hard to focus.

"Nimm, hold on for a second!" I looked up in bewilderment as Kili appeared beside me.

"Why aren't you feeling this?"

"Nimm, you need to calm down."

"Stop saying my name over and over again! It's driving me nuts!"

"Calm down."

"Kili! Hurry up!" Thorin barked from ahead. I looked towards the voice the dwarves were heading towards the fire.

"Come on." Kili said, tugging my arm forward slightly. As soon as I was on my feet, I started forward again, ripping my arm away from Kili. I focused on my breathing and where I was putting my feet. And I quickly arrived at the clearing where the dwarves were waiting for Thorin to give the signal. I blinked a few times and peered into the clearing. The two trolls had Miley pinned against the crude fence in which the ponies were kept, she was holding a large bundle close to her chest. M was sprawled on the dirt closer to us, sporting a nasty looking head wound.

I hadn't even finished processing the situation before all the dwarves had launched themselves at the two trolls. I hurried over to M to check on her condition. She had to blink through blood to see me. "Sorry." She gasped. "Messed up."

"Yeah, big time." I agreed looking at the wound. It would need treatment, but later. There were bigger problems at the moment. Literally. "Sorry." And I gave her a calculated blow to the head, effectively knocking her out. And, after a sharp, momentary pain, the throbbing in my own head stopped. I looked up at the trolls again, finally able to focus.

The dwarves were struggling. They had been able to take down one with just the eight of them, but two were much harder. My mind raced. I had to do something.

A light bulb went off and I rushed back to camp. I had a plan, and it might get a bit messy. As expected, the troll was still there, dead. I pulled my knife from my belt and began cutting my way through the tough hide. It took much longer than I would have thought, sweat was running down my body when I gave one last pull, freeing the head from the rest of it. I then proceeded to drag it through the woods. I was aware of how the sound of battle had stopped, and now deep voices boomed through the woods.

"When's Tom getting back with those nags?" the weasely one asked.

"Who cares about em?" the cook grumbled. "We got enough here for a good meal!"

"How long to eatin'? I'm starvin'!"

"You're _always_ starvin'!"

"Well I'm really starvin' this time! Dawn's a comin' and I haven't had a single thing to eat this whole night!"

"Well then stop yer grippin' and help turn the spit!"

I lugged the head once more behind the bushes and peered through. Six of the dwarves were bound to the spit. Balin and Thorin were in sacks next to a still unconscious M. Miley was nowhere to be seen.

I inhaled deeply, ignoring the stench and the slightly boiled feeling that Kili was feeling periodically. Then, I picked up the head by the ears and tossed into the clearing, letting it come to roll into the view of the two trolls. Then, before action could be taken, I stride confidently into the clearing and put one boot on the severed head, staring challengingly at the two living trolls.

"Wha… Tom?" the cook stammered, eyes wide. All the dwarves were looking at me, slight horror in their eyes. I looked at the two trolls again. Giant hungry relatives without any manners or sanitation. But they were still like people I knew. They were people. And here I was, flaunting the death of one of their closest friends. They might have even been brothers…

I pushed the thoughts to the back of my mind. "Listen up you freaks." I hissed to the trolls. "Let them go right now, or you'll end up just like this one."

The trolls exchanged glances. "You… you killed Tom."

"Oh keep up will you?" I rolled my eyes. "Yes. It's dead. And so will you be if you don't let them go _right now_."

The cooked glared at me. "Or wot? Wot are _you_ gonna do?" He took the threatening step towards me.

"This." I whipped out my bow, notched an arrow and fired it. It scratched his left ear. Crap. "Next time, it'll be your eye." The troll took a step back. "Now that we're at an understanding…" I smiled coldly. "Release them." The trolls were trembling now. Just a little, but they were so big, it was still noticeable. Slowly, the cook nodded to the other one and they began untying the dwarves and freeing them from the sacks. One by one the dwarves retrieved their weapons and clothes and made their way over behind me. Dwalin remembered to grab M on the way out. And at last, there the two trolls by the fire, and the dwarves behind me. And I stood in between, arrow taunt. My arms were beginning to shake with the effort, but I couldn't run, not yet.

"Where's the red head?"

"The what?"

"The other one. The tall one."

"She slipped off into the forest." The younger of the trolls frowned. I frowned as well. Now we would have to find her.

And now there was the trouble of how to leave. As soon as we turned our backs, the trolls would be on us in seconds. As soon as we lost the advantage.

"Fight each other." Everyone looked at me in confusion. "You two. Uglies. Fight each other."

"Wa-"

"NOW!"

* * *

***cue dramatic music* **

**Trust me, I think I know what I'm doing!**


	32. Chapter 32: The Newest Member

The trolls exchanged horrified looks as I pulled my bow tighter. "Whoever wins will get to live." I told them. "Better than both dying. Right? So fight each other."

"Nimm-" Kili began.

"FIGHT!" I commanded again. Bert turned with horrified eyes to William. The younger troll was beyond scared.

"You gotta live." He told the younger.

"Wha?"

"You gotta live Bill. Kill me an' you run. Right? You run far far away from here."

"Naw… naw I can't do it Bert. Don't make me do it Bert."

"Enough!" I hissed at them. "I told you two to fight. Now fight." They looked at me before turning back to each other.

"I can't. You do it Bert. I won't survive on my own."

"You 'ave to!"

"I can't!"

"Then run!" I jumped in surprise as Kili knocked my bow to the side. "Get out of here! NOW!" The trolls nodded, eyes wide and began to run. But no sooner had they started, than a gray figure appeared on the rock face to the clearing.

"Dawn take you all!" A staff struck stone and sunlight flooded into the hollow. The trolls screeched, cowering away as their flesh turned to stone. There was a silence as the clearing grew still, fresh sunlight pouring in cheerily. I didn't feel cheery at the moment.

"What the Hell was that for!" I rounded on Kili.

"We had them _beaten_! They were terrified out of their minds! You didn't need to torture them as well!"

"I just saved all of your lives! And this is the thanks I get?" I looked around at the others. They all stared straight at me disapprovingly. "Fine, next time, I'll let you roast!"

"I think I'd actually prefer that!" Kili barked at my retreating back as I stomped over to where M had been dropped. I threw a rude hand gesture over my shoulder before turning my attention to M. The wound seemed to have scabbed over, though the amount of blood loss did not seem at all healthy. I stood and walked past Oin.

"You might want to check on her." The dwarf gave me a wary glance but did make his way over to the unconscious girl. I in the meantime headed over to Gandalf who was climbing down from the rock, Miley behind him. She was still holding the bundle carefully.

"You sure took your time." I snapped at Gandalf. He raised his eyebrows in slight surprise, but I didn't give him a chance to respond. "And you, great time to disappear."

Miley inhaled slightly in offense. "I was _going_ to get help."

"Well you'd better have been, since it was _your _fault in the first place!"

"Have you even considered that there might be a reason M and I got spotted?" Miley snapped, holding the bundle closer.

"Yeah, your both incompetent idiots!"

"Nimm!"

"Miley!" I mocked her. "God, you're all idiots!"

"Hey!" I turned around to feel a fist connect solidly with my jaw. I stumbled backwards, eyes trying to focus on the ground unsuccessfully. I managed to bring my head around and looked up at who had hit me. Fili stood there, shaking out her hand angrily.

"What the Hell?"

"You're being a jerk." The blonde dwarf said firmly.

"I just saved all of your asses just now! Not a word of thanks. From any of you." Everyone held my gaze evenly. Not even one of them had the decency to even look ashamed. They all stared straight into my eyes. Like _I_ was the one with the problem.

"I did what I had to do." I said defensively. "It's not like I enjoyed doing it! You think I _wanted_ to see them kill each other? It was either them or us." No one said anything, but continued to look straight at me. Unashamed. My eyes dropped to the ground. My legs followed as I sat on the ground, staring at the dirt. I'd done nothing wrong. I'd done nothing… right?

Tears were now escaping my eyes in rivers, my breaths coming in gasps as I began sobbing. Not the pretty kind either. The ugly, uncontrollable type. "I didn't- didn't know- what to- to do. I- I was- sc- scared!" Kili's arms wrapped around me, stroking head as I continued to cry. "I didn't- know- I- I thought I was- doing the- the right- thing!"

"Shh…" Kili cooed in my ear. "It's over now. We're safe." I nodded and tried to stop crying. It wasn't easy, but I was mostly quiet by the time Bofur spoke.

"What are you holding lass?"

It was Miley who replied. "The trolls had her when we found them. That's why we didn't stay hidden. They were about to eat her… So I… I had to do _something_." The dwarves moved to crowd around Miley. I stayed kneeling in the dirt, looking through bleary eyes at them. With Oin off tending to M still. It occurred to me how the group was a little like Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. The thought made me feel a little better. Enough to stand up and see what they were all looking at. Thorin's next words told me exactly what.

"A babe?" He growled.

"A young one too." Balin nodded. "Could be more than a few days old by the looks of it."

"Where'd it come from?" Dwalin asked, slightly baffled.

"Where are its parents?" Bofur asked more accurately.

"Has it been abandoned?" Ori asked sweetly. Rina sighed blissfully at the sound of his voice.

"I think so." Miley said sadly looking at the little baby in her arms. It was wrapped in swaddling cloth.

"We are not taking it with us." Thorin growled immediately.

"It's defenseless!" Miley looked at him in horror.

"It will do nothing but slow us down."

"Thorin, if we leave it here it dies."

"If we take it with us, we die."

"You don't know that!" Miley shook her head.

Rina floated above the thing. "Aww it's adorable." Everyone looked at the babe again, and I got the courage to stand and come a little closer to see it. It was a pudgy, tiny little thing. The tiniest wisps of dark hair sat upon its head as large eyes blinked up at the dwarves around it.

Adorable wasn't really the word I would use. Potato was a more accurate description. But I decided to keep my mouth shut. I was kind of not in good favor with everyone.

"Nimm, look at it." Miley said pleadingly. "We can't just leave it behind."

I swallowed looking at the thing. "Thorin's right." I frowned. "It would slow us down and draw unwanted attention." Everyone but Thorin looked at me once again with disapproving glares.

"It's a risk we'll have to take." Bofur nodded decisively. The others voiced their agreement. Even Dwalin did not argue.

"We'd never be able to leave it in good conscious." Balin told his king. Thorin sighed wearily and nodded.

Then he looked straight at Miley. "This is your responsibility."

"Thank you." She nodded politely. The lord of grump then grumped his way over to talk with Gandalf about trolls and caves and such while the dwarves finished dressing. Oin came over, announcing that M would be fine after some rest and a good meal when she woke up. I swung her over my shoulder as we all headed back to camp. The dwarves seemed excited. Due to the new addition and the prospect of a treasure hoard nearby.

The fact that I had been crying my eyes out just minutes ago was already forgotten. And I was grateful. I avoided the others on the way back through the forest, instead focusing on lugging myself around. Carrying someone who weighs just as much as you is not fun.

Then we came upon something, looming in the gloom that made my spine shiver.

A giant, headless stone troll was charging through the trees, or had been. Now it was just more of creaking along, the shade from the leaves prolonging the petrification process. In was almost completely stone by this point, but there were still patches of flesh that were slowly being transformed to the same stone as the rest of it. It seemed oblivious of us in its slow fruitless quest ever forwards. To the others…

We gave the monstrosity a wide birth and eventually ended up back at camp. "Trolls can only be killed by the sun?" I asked Gandalf quietly.

"No… That is most unnatural."

"Great. Just what I need."

* * *

**This chapter seemed to go by too fast. Hmm...**

**Reviews are always appreciated!**


	33. Chapter 33: A Plundering We Go

Camp was quickly packed and we started onwards in search of the troll cave. My head was now back to throbbing now that M had woken up again, which put me in a very bad mood. Miley had made a quick sling for the tiny infant out of an extra blanket and she and Bofur were now fretting over how they were going to feed it.

I sighed wearily. This was a bad idea. I could tell. Not only was there a long chase ahead of us, but also I found random babies that happened to randomly appear in stories when they weren't there before very odd and untrustworthy.

"What should we call her?" Bofur asked aloud as Oin was examining to make sure the thing hadn't gotten hurt from the trolls.

"A pain in the ass." M replied sourly, holding a waterskin to her head in an attempt to ease her headache. She was also in a grumpy mood, being of the opinion that her current suffering was all that thing's fault. She never said this aloud, but I knew she felt that way because I was thinking the exact same thing.

"Mind your language!" Miley berated her. "I could tolerate it before, but not in front of the child!"

I couldn't help but notice Kili seemed very curious in the newest addition. He didn't do anything, but was often glancing over at it.

"How about Myrtle?" Fili shrugged, making sure to look very nonchalant about it.

"That sounds like a name you'd give a pony." Miley frowned.

"Perdita." Ori said quietly. "It means lost."

"No, that sounds sad." Miley shook her head. "What about a name for found?"

"Sute." The scholar translated; unaware of the dreamy eyes he was receiving from a certain ghosts.

"Sute..." Bofur pondered. "I like it."

"It fits her." Kili agreed.

"Alright then." Miley beamed. "Sute it is." Half the group began coddling over her again and I tuned them out. Only Thorin, Balin, Dwalin, and Gandalf seemed uninterested in the child. Or at least, what it was doing. They were still discussing what to do with it.

"If we make our way through Rivendell, the elves would be more than happy to take it in." Gandalf told the dwarf lord.

"I told you, I will not go near that place." Thorin growled.

"Do not be stubborn Thorin." The wizard continued. "There would be only benefits from going to the valley. We could restock supplies, rest in safety, receive advice!"

"We do not go to Rivendell." I called from the back, drawing everyone's attention to the conversation. "There is no good for this journey that will come from there."

"You speak as if you already know?" Gandalf raised an eyebrow.

"I _do_ know. Remember? I've done this all before."

"For how long?"

"Long enough. We do not go to Rivendell."

Miley interjected. "Nimm, surely you're being oversensitive. Rivendell is a welcome place. The last homely house and all that?" I shot her a warning look but did not reply.

"We will seek no help from elves." Thorin said with finality.

"You are making a mistake Thorin." Gandalf shook his head. But the conversation dropped off as the dark gaping mouth of a cave opened up before us. One whiff was more than enough to know, this was the troll cave. Miley elected to stay outside with Balin, Ori and Oin. M stayed behind to at Oin's command when he noticed some 'unfortunate symptoms'. I was grateful to distance myself from her at any rate. To give my head a slight break from the throbbing.

Gandalf lead the way into the low cave, warning us as we entered. "It's a troll hoard! Be careful what you touch." I entered last behind the wizard and the other five dwarves. Fili and Kili were directly in front of me looking in intrigued disgust at the mounds of bones and artifacts around. I saw at least one candle stand, and two ornate picture frames. All of them were, of course, broken. Gandalf and Thorin made their way straight for the weapons, while Bofur roped Fili into helping him bury one of the chests of gold that had been lying around. Dwalin was stuck being torch holder, but he seemed surprisingly okay with that. I saw Kili staring with fascination at a fancy looking bow as I started heading towards the back.

I had this theory that the harder it would be to find, the more it would be worth it. Unfortunately, what _was_ back there was a load of filth and stench, and as I was coming back the other way, Thorin called everyone to leave.

"Come on, Nimm." Kili called from further ahead.

"Yeah, I heard." I called back, eyes being drawn to one of the piles. It looked just as cluttered as all the others but perched on top was a rolled up piece of paper. It looked much too small to be made by the trolls, and it was the only thing in the cave that did not have a thick layer of dust and cobwebs on it. I picked it up quickly and untied it, but frowned when I realized it was too dark inside the cave to read.

"Nimm!"

"Coming!" I snapped, rolling parchment back up and stuffing it in my boot. It may not have been a fancy weapon, but it was something.

Due to the sudden brightness and increased head throbbing, I felt dizzy upon exiting the cave. And I must have looked somewhat pale from it, because Kili was looking at me with concern as I walked over to him.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"We need to go get the ponies." I told him, shielding the sun from my eyes with one hand. "And tie them up before they bolt."

"Why would they bolt?" Kili frowned.

"Just trust me. The will." I didn't wait for his response before turning to go get the beasts, but I heard footsteps following me and knew it was Kili.

"You never answered my question though." The dwarf pointed out.

"What question?"

"Are you alright?"

I glanced at him over my shoulder. "Of course I'm alright. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You were just crying less than an hour ago." He said, hurrying a little to catch up so we could walk side by side.

"Tears come, tears go, and crying is a normal bodily function. I didn't get any sleep last night and very little the night before that, so I think I'm entitled to a bit of unnecessary emotion, wouldn't you? Besides, my head has been throbbing all morning thanks to M's recklessness." Kili didn't look convinced. "Really, I'm fine."

"I can tell your lying." He gave me a look as we reached the ponies. With Gandalf's back and the two that had already bolted from the trolls' fiasco, we had eight. I still felt like we had more than this.

"I'm not lying." I smiled tiredly.

"You are."

My smile dropped. "No, I'm not, I'm perfectly fine! I just need some sleep alright?"

"Then sleep." Kili shrugged. "I'll wake you when we're ready to leave again."

I shook my head. "No, now really isn't a good time." We each took the reigns of four ponies and started leading them back to the rest of the company to tie them up. I was going to make sure we had a chance this time.

* * *

**Alright this chapter is preparation for things to come. I'm sorry if it's a bit slow.**

**And just out of curiosity, are people still reading this? If so, I'd love to hear from you!**


	34. Chapter 34: Fighting Back

Kili and I finished tying up the ponies just as Thorin shouted a warning about something coming. That wizard dude. Rabbitgas or something like that. I tightened the last knot and turned to follow the others.

"Death! Fire! MURDER!" And out popped the bunny sleigh. I huffed in annoyance as Kili stepped in front of my protectively.

"Radagast?" Gandalf came forward. "Radagast the Brown! What on earth are you doing here?" the disgust was evident in his undertones.

"I was looking for you Gandalf. Something's wrong. Something's terribly wrong…"

"Yes?" Gandalf prompted the frazzled looking wizard. Radagast opened his mouth to speak.

Then closed it.

Then opened it.

Then closed it again.

"Oh, just give me a minute. Um, oh, I had a thought, and now I've lost it! It was right there. On the tip of my tongue!" Radagast huh? Rather unimpressive for a Maiar. "Oh! It's not a thought at all! It's a silly old…" Gandalf reached a tentative finger into the other wizard's mouth and pulled out a spindly writhing thing. "Stick insect!"

"Yes well, lets talk over here shall we?" the gray wizard began leading the shorter away.

"Make it quick." I called to them. "We need to leave as soon as possible."

"Why?" Thorin asked skeptically.

"Because there's an orc pack on our tail." I told him frankly. "Everyone, you'd best mount up"

"There's a what?" Thorin growled.

"An orc pack. Weren't you listening?" I snapped. "Finish packing and mount up. The warg scouts will be on us in a few minutes." A tense stillness fell over the company before everyone hurried into motion. And quickly, everyone was in their saddles and waiting on our wizard. I sat facing Kili's back as my thoughts wandered to the parchment in my boot. I shifted my weight awkwardly until I could grab it from my boot. Kili shot a questioning look at me over his shoulder but I waved him off as I unrolled the note. Scrawled upon the page in dark red ink was this:

Plan B Section IV

The infant will be found along the Great East Road. Find it and keep it safe. Do not leave your cave until the orc patrol comes to retrieve the infant.

By no means are you to leave the cave once you have the infant.

-S

"What is that?" Kili's voice interrupted me. I looked up quickly to make sure he couldn't read the words.

"It's nothing." I lied. "Just a letter from my family."

"You're lying again." Kili frowned.

"Yes, I do that." I looked back at the note and froze. The words were gone, replaced with a single word.

Compromised.

I turned the letter around in my hand, flipping it over several times. It was nothing but an old piece of parchment with the single red word. The note was snatched from my hands as Fili and Miley road past.

"Compromised." Fili read aloud examining the paper for anything before looking at me. "What does that mean?"

"I don't know." I shook my head. "I found it in the troll hoard." Fili made a face but handed it back to me and I stuffed it back in my boot.

A loud howl pierced through the air, causing the ponies to prance anxiously. Thorin shot me a look before two wargs came bounding in. Kili nearly elbowed me in the chest as he released an arrow at the first, rendering it easy pray. Dwalin finished off the other quickly.

"Time to go!" I shouted to everyone as Gandalf swung onto his own pony.

"These ponies aren't meant for outrunning wargs!" Fili snapped at me.

"Well we don't have a choice!" I replied hotly, glancing at Miley who was holding onto Sute tightly on the back of Fili's pony.

"I'll draw them off." Radagast spoke up. I smiled to myself, privately hoping that he would offer.

"These are Gundabad wargs!" Gandalf looked down at the other wizard. "They will outrun you."

"These are Rhosgobel rabbits!" Radagast sassed back. "I'd like to see them try." The wizard hurried to his sleigh as Thorin lead us in the other direction, sticking to the cover of the trees until the orcs had latched on to Radagast's trail.

The ponies were hard to manage however, as they pranced impatiently, wanting dreadfully to flee the coming wargs. I wanted to as well. But I set my jaw, ears straining for the sounds of wargs to move away again. As soon as the howling started growing softer, the ponies were spurred to motion. Eight ponies galloped as quickly as their stubby legs could carry them out of the trees and into the grassy plains. Even with Radagast's distraction, the wargs were on us in a matter of seconds. Stealth wasn't really high on our priority this time. The orcs brought their wargs on either side of us, slowly surrounding the company.

"We can't outrun them!" Balin shouted.

"Follow my lead!" Gandalf shouted from the front. I scowled. He was still set on Rivendell. But I was _not_ going back there. I wasn't going to let everything go south again. Fortunately, I didn't have to tell him that because the orcs did a good job of it for me. They had us surrounded, running with us but all the while moving closer for the attack.

"Nimm, shoot them!" Kili shouted from the reigns.

"What?"

"Shoot them!"

"I can't shoot!"

"What?"

"I can't aim at all!" I hollered over the wind. Even considering our current position of high danger, Kili made the time to shoot me a critical look before dropping the reigns and whipping out his bow.

"Take the reigns!" He shouted to me as his first arrow fired. I scrambled to reach around him, fumbling for the reigns that he had so carelessly dropped and were now bouncing around wildly. At last my fingers closed around it and I sat up again, looking over his shoulder so I could see where I was going. It was a good thing we were roughly the same height.

He leased two more arrows, both hitting their marks, before turning to the other side. Of course the orcs, realizing that time was on our side immediately pressed their attacks, crude weapons swinging towards the members of the company closest to them. Kili and I both ducked as a sword came towards our head. I looked over into the ugly face of a sneering orc and punched it. Then a crazy notion got into my head (probably from watching too many action movies) and I drew my knife before sliding off the ponies back and towards the orc. We grappled over the wargs saddle as it continued to ride with the others. The orc hissed loudly before taking a bite out of my shoulder in an attempt to rattle me. I must have been high on adrenaline though, because I hardly felt a thing and took the chance to plunge my knife into the opening his attack created. The orc went tumbling into the grass and dirt as I turned forward again, franticly searching for the reigns before finding that there were none.

To make matters worse, the warg was freaking out majorly at having this strange person on it's back. I gripped my fingers tightly into its matted fur and hung on for dear life. A larger orc came up next to me, blade swinging. I brought my dagger around, blocking the most of it and getting off with only a small cut in my side instead of the large gash it would have been. But the orc kept coming.

I _should_ have been too worried for my life to focus on anything but fighting, but it was at that moment that I say a little rolled up piece of parchment tied to the orc's belt. It looked very familiar.

Another swing came towards my head, and I ducked before yanking the warg to the side so I could press the offensive. The sheer force of the orc's larger weapon made my dagger a very poor defense against attacks, the orcs rusting metal managing to find it's way at me despite my attempts to parry. However, when I gave the orc a shove, trying (unsuccessfully) to push him from his mount, I grabbed the parchment in the process before two arms dragged me from the wargs back. I panted atop one of the ponies as Dwalin steered away from the wargs again towards the others.

"What were you _thinking_ lass?" he hollered, pulling out his axe again as I scrambled to a sitting position.

"Not much." I replied, glancing behind me to see two orcs pull out bows. But the leader, whom I had just relieved of the note, which was now tucked in my other boot, shouted something in another language. To my confusion, the two orcs put their bows away and redrew their swords.

"Why are they not shooting at us?"

"What?" Dwalin hollered over the wind.

"They aren't shooting!" I shouted back.

"Good!"

"No, strange!" I replied turning to look at them again. The orcs seemed to be closing in on Miley and Fili.

"Watch out!" M warned them as two warg riders pressed past the others to flank the one pony. Arrows were immediately flying towards the orcs, leaving behind nothing but rider less wargs, snapping wildly at the pony's legs.

"Rina, can't you do something?" I shouted to the ghost floating nearby looking extremely worried.

"I-I want to! B-but-"

"Ugh, nevermind!" I turned away again to look ahead. We were riding through pine trees at this point. I recognized the terrain. "Gandalf, we cannot go to Rivendell!" The wizard ignored me.

Then a horn sounded. I looked behind me once again, my face paling under hood and paint.

Riding towards us were a large group of white horses, ridden by armored, armed… Elves.

* * *

**I don't know what's going to happen here. But it looks like Rivendell is back on the menu...**


	35. Chapter 35: Well This is Inconvenient

The company looked around in bewilderment as the orcs got picked off one by one, the elves came galloping through, bringing the chase to a stop as they gracefully got rid of the remaining orcs before forming a ring around us, looking down on our shorter ponies.

"Mithrandir!" The leader called. Gandalf replied in some sort of elvish. Thorin and I shared a glance. We had to get out of this somehow. The wizard looked at Thorin before nodding and saying something else to Elrond. What were they _saying_?

At last, Gandalf turned to look at the rest of us. "Lord Elrond has offered to escort us the rest of the way to Rivendell." Then quieter to Thorin whispered. "This is in our best interest. You must trust me on this Thorin." The dwarf lord to a despising breath before nodding. My stomach dropped.

The elves fell into line on either side of us. And though they meant to help… it felt like a cage. Did they mean to help us? What if Gandalf had told the elf dude about us already? Maybe this was already a trap! I looked around for a possible escape. The elf next to us seemed less experienced, more… I knew that face. He saw me staring at his face and gave me a polite nod before looking back ahead of him.

It was the elf who had killed me.

I quickly looked down at the ground. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw another pony pull aside Dwalin's. I looked over to see Kili's face. It was beyond concern.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"I'm fine." That's what I tried to say. But when I opened my mouth, nothing came out.

"Nimm?" Kili said, placing a hand on my cheek and turning it so he could look in my eyes. I was shaking. Why was I shaking? I mean… I did just see the person who killed me but… but…

I was aware of Kili helping me over onto his pony and hugging me close to him before picking up the reigns again and starting forward after the others again. Fortunately, I managed to stop crying after only two tears escaped and took a deep breath to calm my nerves.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He whispered in my ear. I shook my head. How could I? Oh yeah, it's nothing much, I just saw the person who shot me to death last time I was here, no big deal. I mean… really. Thankfully, Kili didn't press me, as the company was lead over the plains and down a rocky path into one of the most beautiful places I had ever seen. My mouth hung open slightly.

The trees were almost golden in the falling light, which drifted through many waterfalls like stars through glass. The architecture of the place was smooth and graceful, mirroring the nature around it. I had been inside before, but this was my first time seeing the outside of it. Being aware of it at any rate.

"If you think this is something," Kili chuckled in a low voice. "Wait until you see Erebor." I glanced back at him as a smile slipped over his face. "I've never been there myself, but Thorin would tell us stories…"

"I'm sure it'll be a sight." I nodded. Assuming we can get there alive.

The horses and ponies filed down the stone bridges and pathways into Rivendell where more elves came out of whatever little caves they lived in to lead the ponies and horses to their stables. A female elf came up to Miley, M, and I offering to lead us to the bathhouse so we could get washed up before dinner. The other two started heading off, Sute still in Miley's arms, but I hung back.

"Are you sure you will not reconsider milady?" the elf smiled sadly. "I'm sure it will be very refreshing after your travels." M gave me a look that plainly said 'don't make a big deal of this'. I made a face.

"Maybe later." I lied.

"As you wish." She nodded before leading the other two away. I turned back to the dwarves, inching closer to them as other elves lead us to wherever dinner was.

"It'll be alright." I jumped and looked over to find Kili next to me looking very compassionately.

"I-I know!" I replied indignantly, cursing silently at the tremor that sneaked into my voice. He gave me a look of pity, intertwining his fingers with mine. I sighed wearily letting my shoulders slump dramatically. "Seriously, I'll be fine. I don't need coddling."

"I'm not coddling you." He laughed quietly before whispering. "If you're troubled, you can always talk about it. My ears are open."

I smiled slightly. "Thanks. I'll remember that."

There were three low round tables set up upon a beautiful balcony overlooking the waterfalls below. I sat down between Kili and Ori, looking around quietly for Rina. The ghost was nowhere to be found. I pushed it to the back of my mind.

More elves came out bearing food, which they set at the table and even more began to play calming music. There were just… so many of them. All the important people sat at the tall table above us. The dwarves sat around the salads, complaining in low voices. I tiredly picked up my fork and stabbed a leaf, examining it as it twirled on my fork. I wasn't really hungry.

Then something big chomped down on my fork, pulling it out of my hand. I jumped and turned in surprise to Kili who was munching down on the leaf quizzically, my fork still held in his mouth. He caught my eye and paused for a moment before shrugging and resuming his chewing.

"Dude, what was that?" I scrunched up my nose.

Kili swallowed, before answering around the fork. "Yoo kep yor mathk on. I athumed i wa fo me."

"I was gonna eat it you jerk! Give me my fork back!" I made a grab for the utensil, but the dwarf ducked a smile breaking across his face. "I'm serious! If you don't-" I continued to grab for it as he craned his neck away laughing as he tried to keep my arms back. Fili moved out of the way just before we came crashing down where she had been seated. I finally got my hands on the fork and pried it from his teeth, huffing as I sat back up again. "Idiot." The whole table of dwarves was laughing uncontrollably, Kili worst of all as he struggled to sit up again.

"Oh gross! You slobbered all over it!" I held the fork by the end like it was some sort of poisonous snake. Kili just laughed even harder. I tossed it back at him, letting it bounce harmlessly off his shoulder before grabbing for his unused fork.

"Oi!" he cried, trying to grab it back. I grinned at him evilly; wiping the smile off his face "What are you-" I lowered my mask and gave the fork a big wet lick. The entire table fell silent as the dwarves waited to see his reaction. A chill ran down as I watched him. He _smirked_. Not like a lopsided smile, this was a full on, devil-may-care smirk. In a flash, Kili grabbed the fork, speared a leaf and crunched down; making sure the part that stuck out was wagging tauntingly in my face.

I stared at him in disbelief. "You're sick." He frowned and dropped the fork from his mouth like a puppy who had just been scolded by its master. I tried to keep a straight face, but was forced to look away, barely containing the snort that was trying to escape. The dwarves shook their heads and turned back to the meal.

"Are you mad?" Kili asked from somewhere next to me. I rolled my eyes and stared at the leaves in front of me. Yeah, I didn't need a fork to eat them. I picked one up, moving to stick it distastefully in my mouth, but found it full instead. I looked down to see Kili's face pressed against mine. Heat rushed to my face, and I glared at him as he sat up again.

"Are you mad now?"

I glared angrily at the sky. "Yes." Kili laughed and resumed eating. Using both forks improperly. Probably just to annoy me. But I was pretty sure my face was still beet red.

Conversation around the tables stopped slowly, drawing me from my own little world. They were all looking at two people who had come in. M and Miley had arrived, wearing fine elven dresses and their hair all neat and braided intricately. Well… M still looked like a potato. Just a potato in a dress. Miley however…

"Wow." I looked over at Kili who was staring starry eyed at Miley.

"Oi!" I hissed at him quietly.

He glanced at me briefly. "Sorry." But his eyes followed her all the way to her seat next to Fili. The two had become good friends I had noticed. M fidgeted uncomfortably in her dress as she sat down in between Balin and Bofur.

"Where's the little ball of flesh?" I asked her.

"What?"

"The kid."

"Oh, there's an elf looking after it." I scowled but accepted it. If we could just play this cool, we might make it out yet.

* * *

**Well I thought that little scene was really sweet... **

**I hope Nimm had the proper mix of fear anxiety and wonder. It's complicated. I don't know how someone would react in this situation.**


	36. Chapter 36: The Notes

After dinner, another of the multitudes of elves led us to a small little building with a few guest rooms. Four of them, and a shared balcony gazebo room thingy. I had no idea what it was honestly. But the dwarves wasted no time getting comfy, feeling much better after their display of 'proper mealtime music'. They all agreed to camp in the shared room so as they didn't get too used to being out of the wild, but they all seemed more than happy to finally be rid of their heavy coats as they sat around the fire cooking 'proper dwarven food'. Which looked to be nothing but sausages, but hey, who was I to judge.

As soon as the elven dinner was over though, I immediately yanked up my mask and hood, wrapped my cloak closer around me and found a corner to hide in. I didn't feel safe here. It was too open. To exposed…

Kili caught my eye across the room and motioned for me to come sit with him on a cushioned bench. I tried my best to ignore him, but as I did so he just got more and more animated and I feared if I continued to brush him off it would turn into another scene like at dinner. And I certainly didn't want a repeat of _that_.

So I stood and crossed quietly to the other side of the room, ignored by the others who were listening to Bofur's very extravagant tale from his childhood. He seemed to be reaching the climax when he frowned forgetfully before coming up with some outrageous tall tale of what happened. He couldn't just admit that he, you know, forgot or anything.

I sat down gently on the cushioned bench as far away from Kili as possible and pulled my knees to my chest. An arm wrapped around me and tilted me until I was leaning against Kili's side. I glanced up at him, watching the fire dance in his eyes as he watched it passively. I tried to stay still for a moment, but my curled up position made it difficult. I sighed in resignation and shifted a bit until I was comfortably resting against him. It was warm.

The fire danced dangerously, crackling as it ate away the elven chair that had been sacrificed to feed its unquenchable appetite. My eyes closed as I let myself forget about everything momentarily.

"Comfortable?" A warm voice asked from above me.

"Very." I mumbled, nestling more into my seat. My headrest shook slightly as Kili chuckled next to me. My eyes opened and I turned to look up at Kili, my head now resting in his lap. He raised one brow questioningly. I just smiled and shrugged. I felt like I had something to say, but it seemed unimportant now. It must have been since I forgot it.

"What are you thinking?" Kili asked, eyes turning back to the fire.

"Nothing for once." I sighed blissfully closing my own eyes.

"So…" The dwarf started casually. "What you said a few days ago… You want kids?"

"Nah." I said lazily. "I don't know where that came from honestly."

"You want to get married?"

My eyes opened in surprise and I looked up to see his eyes now staring at me piercingly. "Was that a proposal?" I asked in confusion.

Kili looked very tense. "If you want it to be."

I turned my head to stare into the fire, my throat feeling dry. "Nah." I risked a glance back at Kili to see him staring determinedly into the fire. "There's a lot going on right now…" I started to explain, but stopped. It sounded like an excuse. Because it was. I wasn't going to get married with such an uncertain future. It was just a recipe for disaster and heartbreak.

And the weight of the quest settled on me once again. I sat up brusquely, returning to my side of the bench and slipped my hand into my boot, pulling out the parchment I had nabbed from the orc. I unrolled it and read the dark red ink.

Plan C Section II

The Dwarves have the infant. Retrieve it and proceed as planned.

Do not endanger the infant under any circumstances. I don't need to tell you what happens if you do.

-S

Kili was reading it over my shoulder, for he said, "That's the same writing as that other note." I nodded, reaching into my boot for the other letter and unfolding it. The word 'Compromised' was still there in red ink. I looked back to the second letter to compare and froze. The message had changed.

Naughty naughty Mary.

Think you can get a leg up on me do you?

Tsk tsk.

-S

"Wha…" I stared in horror at the words.

"Mary?" Kili frowned before remembering what I had told him earlier. "How does it know your name?" He was tense now, moving closer to me. Like I needed protecting.

"I… I don't know." And I honestly didn't. It was almost like… Riddles Diary. Maybe it even was. I looked around for ink and quill desperately.

"It changed again!" Kili pointed over my shoulder. "Now it…" his voice trailed off as I looked down at the words.

It's a one-way thing dearie.

Send Kili my love!

-S

"How does it know _my_ name?" Kili asked in alarm, now drawing the attention of the others. I jumped up quickly spinning around as I searched for a hidden camera or a spy or _anything_. There was no sign at all. I looked back down at the letter to see it had changed again.

Compromised.

"Dammit!" I shouted, throwing the letter to the ground.

"Nimm, what's wrong?" Miley asked in concern. Fili picked the parchment up off the floor and once again read it aloud.

"Compromised." She looked up at me. "Is this the same one?"

"No." I spat, glaring at the thing. "No it's not."

"It knew our names." Kili was horrified. "It talked to us. Nimm-"

"Whoever it is," I growled. "They're in charge of all of this. They're the ones messing everything up! And they know us."

"It called you Nimm?" M asked from her seat on the floor.

"No…" I looked at her. "It called me Mary."

Miley looked between the two of us. "Do you have any idea who it was?" She asked.

"No." I paced aggressively. "All it says at the end is 'S'."

"Like in Sherlock?" Miley frowned.

"What?"

"BBC's Sherlock." She explained. "Sherlock sighs his texts 'SH' for Sherlock Holmes."

"Never seen it." I shrugged.

"Besides," M frowned. "That's two letters. This is only one. S… what if it's Sute?"

Miley glared at her. "What if it's Sauron?"

"Who?"

"He's... a evil overlord from the-" she mouthed _sequel_.

"Maybe," I replied, "That kid is a part of this though. Both messages have been about the 'infant'."

"You think they're after Sute?" Miley gasped.

"Well unless there was _another_ infant around that you've been hiding from me, yeah, I think they are."

"But why?"

"I don't know!" I shouted. No one said anything but looked at each other worriedly. "I just don't know."

"We should tell Thorin." Fili said.

"Where _is_ he anyway?" The dwarves begun to look around worriedly.

It was Dwalin who answered. "He and Balin went with Gandalf to take a look at that map to find an entrance to the mountain."

"We'll tell them tomorrow then." Miley nodded. "For now… we should all try and get some sleep. Who knows how long until we'll be in the wilderness again." Everyone nodded and turned to pull out their bedrolls. I blinked a few time before turning to head out for a walk to clear my head, maybe gather some clues. Hints… Something.

"You too Nimm!" Miley called from behind me.

I sighed loudly. "Your not my mom."

"Never claimed I was." Miley replied indignantly.

"Then why are you acting liked it?"

"Will you both shut UP?" Fili groaned, her face buried in her bedroll. Everyone looked at her in surprise.

"She had too much of the elvish wine." Ori explained. Pathetic, but at least everyone calmed down a bit. I huffed, but found a wall to sleep next to. I needed something at my back so I could feel just a little less defenseless. The ground was hard cold stone. Tonight was going to be long.

* * *

**Well... this is going to be interesting.**


	37. Chapter 37: Baths and Death threats

I flopped down on the grass angrily. Ori had suggested taking a walk in the gardens might help settle my nerves. It didn't.

"TWO FREAKIN DAYS!" I shouted to the blue skies above me. The birds were all that replied some chirping back at me as if scolding me for my noise.

I rolled up to a sitting position again, my hood falling back in the process. I didn't care. So what if people saw my short hair? I _hadn't_ done anything shameful. I _chose_ to cut it. Dumb customs didn't affect me.

"Two whole days…" I let out an annoyed sigh through my nose. I had to stay two more days in this dreadful place. I had to survive two days.

"Oi, blue face!" I glared in the direction of the noise to see Fili walking over to me, sweaty from a recent work out.

"What do you want?" I sighed.

"I'm gonna get a bath so I don't continue to reek forever. Miley wanted me to ask for you to join me."

"No thanks."

"M says you don't have a choice."

"She can go to hell."

Fili rolled her eyes before smiling coolly. "You're being stubborn. What, you afraid of baths?"

"No." I scowled.

"Then come on." She offered me a hand up. I declined it, but stood anyway, following her to a little hidden fountain in what seemed an abandoned area. "The others are in another fountain."

"And the elves don't mind?" I raised an eyebrow as she started stripping.

"Eh, who cares if they do?"

"Gee, how thoughtful." Hesitantly, I stripped as well and lowered myself into the freezing fountain. "This is cold." I hissed, lowering myself in slowly. Fili just smirked. "I could really go for some warm water right now."

"Mmm…" Fili hummed in agreement. And the conversation ended. Neither of us talked or acknowledged each other as we sat in the icy fountain. After it had been awkward for long enough, I decided to hurry up and wash so I could get out of there quickly. I dunked my head in the water. It was cold, but the feeling as it surrounded me completely was comforting. It was only my lack of air that forced me to come back up. If I could have one super power it would definitely be to breath underwater. That would be so cool. I gasped for air as soon as my face broke the surface again. I breathed deeply for a moment before splashing water on my face. I was getting more used to the temperature and had managed to stop shivering for a bit.

I felt eyes on me and looked up to see Fili staring at me in a bored, yet intrigued way. I raised an eyebrow at her. She shrugged. "Your hair really is brown."

"It washed out?" I asked. It was impossible for me to see at its current length.

Fili nodded. "The markings on your face as well." I sighed. I would have to go searching for supplies to fix it up again. Fili was watching me again.

"Something on your mind?" I asked a little hostile.

"Why do you hide your face?"

I was slightly taken aback at first, before regaining myself and answering calmly. "At first it was to keep M from noticing who I was. I'm treading on unknown territory, so I didn't want to mess anything up."

"Why do you do it now?"

"Well you heard Thorin yourself!" I snapped. "He doesn't want to be seen traveling with someone who had short hair." Okay, so maybe I was still a bit annoyed about that.

"But why do you hide your _face_?" Fili asked. I glared at her a moment before sinking lower into the fountain. Fili watched me a moment before looking away casually. "In my experience, people who hide their face usually have more than one thing they're hiding."

"Everyone's hiding something."

Fili raised an eyebrow. "You really think that?"

"I know that." I said certainly.

"Well then," Fili smirked "What am I hiding?"

I shrugged. "Who knows? You're royalty right? First born even. But you're a girl, so your younger brother will inherit the throne instead of you. Surely you must be hiding some sort of resentment over that."

Fili nodded. "Sometimes. So what are you hiding?"

"If I was hiding it, why would I tell you?" I replied, shrugging.

The dwarf stared at me for a long moment. "This is why I don't like you." She leaned back, relaxing again the fountain's edge. "If you weren't Kili's One I wouldn't even bother with you. Thorin wouldn't either, in case you're wondering."

"So what?" I asked. "If Kili didn't like me I'd be dead?"

"I'm not convinced he _does_ like you." Fili laughed. "He's a romantic. Always has been. He's trying to make it work between the two of you. So I'm willing to give you a chance. But if you try and use him in your little schemes or anything dishonest that could hurt him, then I _won't _hesitate to end you. Even if it does sever the connection between you two."

"What happens when you sever the connection?" I asked, choosing to ignore the death threat that had just been told to my face from the person I was currently sharing a bath with.

"It all but destroys the person who remains. They get over it eventually, of course. But not completely. And they're never quite the same." A far off look came to her eyes, as if speaking from memory.

I cleared my throat quietly. "And you'd do that to him? Out of hatred for me?"

"If you hurt him." Fili nodded.

I swallowed again painfully, my throat feeling very dry. "Well… good to know how you feel."

"Any time." Fili smiled before rising, dripping from the water and putting on the clothes, which she had soaked in the fountain and left to dry. When she had done that, I had no clue, but she did. I was a little thankful that she waited for me to wash the mud out of my own clothes before I climbed out of the fountain, which was now muddy beyond belief, and draining a little slower than usual.

"The elves won't care." The dwarf assured me. I sighed and followed her back through the white halls, keeping an eye out for a sunny spot to sit and dry myself. The traveling clothes were thick, making them sturdy, but very heavy when wet.

"You brought half the fountain with you." Fili observed the trail of water I was leaving behind me. I rolled my eyes before seeing Kili up ahead. He looked slightly damp from his recent bath as well. His eyes widened as the two of us came walking up.

"Did someone try to drown you?" He asked eyes wide.

"Very funny."

"I'm half serious here."

"Go away." I had meant it as a joke. I really had. But when I saw the hurt look that came across his face I immediately felt bad. "No I-" I looked around helplessly but Fili was already gone. "I didn't mean that."

Kili looked at me sadly. "I'm annoying to you, aren't I? And don't try to deny it. I can feel what you feel."

"No I… I…" words seemed to elude me. "Yes, okay, you annoy me! But it's not because I don't like you. I do like you! Way too much, in fact. And that's what annoys me!"

"I don't understand." Kili frowned.

"I _can't_ love anyone, Kili. It makes me vulnerable. It's a weakness. And right now I can't afford to have any more weaknesses then I already have. I don't need any more." And the fact that his name appeared on the paper certainly didn't help matters

The dark haired dwarf stared straight into my eyes. "I'm a burden to you?"

"…Yeah." I turned away; hoping one of us would just leave. But neither Kili nor I moved at all.

"So what do you want?" his voice asked from behind me. "What do you want to happen now?"

I didn't dare look back. "I want to finish this stupid quest and get Miley back home again. That's all I need to worry about right now and it's _more_ than enough."

"And what about… us?"

"It's a distraction." I replied coldly. "For both of us. And your uncle would agree with me."

"I don't care what my uncle thinks." Kili spat.

"You do, don't try to deny it." I glared at him. "Besides. There's no future for _us_. I have a mission and once that's over 'poof' goodbye Nimm."

"You don't know that."

"Don't I?" I laughed hollowly. "It's not like I'll just hang around here! That's impossible."

"Why?" Kili demanded.

_Because this is just a book_. I bit back the words. "It just is. Okay?"

"Well I'm not willing to accept that!" He growled. "It sounds to me like your just giving up on your future and I won't let you do that!"

"My life doesn't _matter_ anymore." I hissed. "I shouldn't even exist! There are _two_ off me. That's something that should _never_ happen. But I need to save Miley. It's my fault she's in this situation. Saving her is my only priority."

"I thought you were sent to save the quest?" Kili said warily.

Shoot. Forgot about that. "That's their mission. Mine is to get Miley out of this alive. I owe it to her."

"And that means you can't even think about a future."

"That's right." I turned away again. "Because I don't have the right to one. Sorry I had to mess up your life." The sound of my own dripping followed me as I left. It was a good thing I was soaked. It hid my tears well.

* * *

**That was not supposed to happen, darn you Nimm why do you have to be such a stubborn old git?**


	38. Chapter 38: The Tiny Lady

I sat with the sun on my back, eyes weary and emotionally worn.

"I haven't seen Rina at all since we came to Rivendell." I looked up to see M walking over in a new traveling outfit. A gift from the elves. She looked much more comfortable in it then that hobbit dress from before. Wherever that had come from.

"I'm sure she's following Ori around." I grumbled.

"She's not, I checked…" M gave me a look over. "What's wrong with you? It looks like you got drowned in your own tears."

"I just got a bath in the fountain." I rolled my eyes.

"Which is obviously why your eyes are red as cranberries." She replied sarcastically.

I glared back. "You're annoying. Go away."

M laughed. It wasn't a merry laugh, though it wasn't cruel either. It was more of a 'I can't believe this' kind of laugh. And when she stopped, she said to me, "You know just as much as I do that this is something you need to talk through."

"No." I looked away. "Not this time. This time I just need to get over it."

I desperately wished she would just hurry up and leave already. Instead of staring at me like a tabby cat. But instead of leaving me alone, she did the opposite. She sat down next to me on the slightly soaked bench.

"It has to do with Kili, doesn't it?"

"I hate you."

They were not teasing words, though I had often said that to many friends in jest. This time it was purely honest. Pure distaste. "I really, really hate you."

M stared at me for a moment before responding. "I hate you too. Get over it." It made sense. The one person in the world that would hate someone the most is themselves. We see our flaws through a microscope and our qualities like a tiny boat all the way across the ocean. It's only natural to hate yourself. That's just what people do.

"So if you aren't going to tell me what happened," M said, drawing me from my thoughts, "You might as well pick up your sorry ass and help me find that dumb ghost."

"Who cares about her, she's just annoying and useless."

"We're in a _story_. No matter how messed up it gets, this is still a book. And that means no one is unimportant. _Ever_." I looked up at M in surprise. She was right. Of course she was, how dumb could I be? If Rina was truly missing, that meant something was up.

"Fine." I sighed, pulling myself to my feet tiredly. "Let's get this over with."

The two of us walked for a long time, calling out the ghost's name. It drew enough attention, that I pulled up my hood and mask again, hiding myself from the curious stares of the elves. Neither one of us talked to the other, unless absolutely necessary. And when we did, it was in short, tense fragments of sentences that just barely got the point across. My throat was feeling hoarse from calling the ghost's name by the time we finally heard a response.

"help… over here…" It was so tiny and faint; at first we didn't hear it at all. "helppp"

"Is that?"

"m… nimm… over here"

"It's coming from that bush!" M pointed off the path. Both of us exchanged a glance before creeping forward and parting the thick branches to look beneath. We found ourselves staring at a little thing. It was Rina, with long blonde hair and flowing white robes. The thing was tangled up in the branches. She was no bigger than the length of my hand.

"Rina?" I asked.

"who else could I be…" the tiny thing snapped feebly trying to pull herself from the branches. "i could really use some help here…" M reached into the branches and pulled the tiny Rina out.

"What happened?" M asked examining the thing in her hand. "You're so tiny! And… and I can touch you!"

"your skills of observation are huge…" the tiny voice replied before Rina collapsed wearily on her palm. "i'll explain everything, but first… could I have some… food…"

M looked over at me before nodding to the tiny person and starting off back to where our provisions were. "So what happened?"

"rivendell is a special place…" Rina explain weakly. "the magic here is strong, and I… I thought maybe… it could be used…"

"What do you mean?" I asked. "You brought yourself into physical form?" Rina nodded that she had. "Why? What went wrong?"

"it was a little more… taxing… then I thought it would be…" she frowned. "but I had to or I would go insane… i thought I could handle it… just watching him… hearing his voice… but it was not… it was never enough…" She smiled sadly. "i want to talk to him… touch him… stare into his eyes and know that for once, they were really staring back…" M and I shared a tired glance. "i- I love him…" she croaked, the tiniest of tears falling from her face. "and if I have to sacrifice my power… brave the wrath of… anyway… it is worth it. anything is worth it…" My eyes fell on her as her words traveled to me. She sure was in love that was for certain. She was willing to risk everything while I… well.

I wasn't even close to that bravery.

She made herself weak on purpose, just to be with some mitten-wearing scribe. It was brave of her, if a little bit idiotic. Suppose he didn't love her back? Or she found out that the real him wasn't what she had thought?

Seeing her gaze on me broke me from my thoughts. And she spoke. "it is a risk worth taking…"

"How did you-"

"M! Nimm! There you two are!" I looked up to see Miley waving to us from an archway ahead. Sute was nestled in a sling in front of her as she walked towards us. "We've been looking everywhere for you two."

"We?" I asked looking over her shoulder to see Bofur, Ori, and Fili coming up the path smiling. Kili was there as well, hanging in the back. But he wasn't smiling. And he _definitely_ wasn't looking up at me.

"What's up?" M asked in confusion.

"Lord Elrond has invited us all to dinner again but you two were still not back so we- what _on earth _do you have in your hands?" Everyone's attention now shifted to the tiny Rina, who was blushing like mad.

"This is Rina." M introduced. "The ghost that's been following us around the past week."

"That's her?" Ori whispered, approaching slowly before lowering himself until he was on eye level with the tiny spirit. "She's beautiful…" he breathed, gazing in fascination at Rina, who looked like she was about to explode from embarrassment.

"Apparently this place allowed her enough power to take physical form." I explained briefly. "But it's taken a lot out of her, so we're going to go dig up some grub for her to see if it'll help at all." The others nodded except Ori who was still stuck in a trance. Slowly, he raised one hand, extending a finger towards her all friendly like. Rina stared at it for a moment before crawling over M's palm and reaching a tentative hand towards his finger. She seemed to be trembling as she extended her hand further. Her size made the slender hand even more delicate as it slipped onto Ori's large index finger. Both of their eyes opened wide as they stared at each other in silence.

"wow…" she gasped, chest rising and falling rapidly. Ori smiled sweetly, before rising and, keeping his finger steady, gave the tiny spirit a gentlemanly bow. Rina managed to rise to her feet and give a graceful curtsy in return.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Lady Rina." Ori smiled calmly as he stood again.

"and you master ori…" she smiled back shyly. The dwarf put one hand next to M's and escorted the tiny lady over to his own hand with his finger before helping her to sit down gently in his palm.

It was one of the sweetest things I had ever seen. Sappy and dumb, but really really sweet.

Bofur came over and patted the lad on the back, grinning. "Congratulations lad, you've found your One!"

Ori beamed at the older dwarf. "I can't wait to tell Dori!"

"Who?" Fili frowned.

"Hmm?" Ori hummed in confusion.

"Who's Dori?" Fili asked.

"Who?" the scribe frowned.

"Eh forget it," Fili shook her head. "I must be hearing things." The scribe smiled understandingly before turning away to bring Rina back to the others.

Strange… that Dori sounded familiar. Oh well.

* * *

**^/^ they are sooooo cute. omg I can't contain myself!**


	39. Chapter 39: Elderly Council

The entire dinner was ruined from the vibes of hurt and anger that were clouding around Kili like a toxic fog. No one else noticed. Well, they noticed his foul mood. But no one as keenly as I did. I seemed to have a knack for getting him worked up. Miley kept hinting that I should talk to him, patch things up, but I firmly ignored these suggestions as I crunched angrily on leaves, face hidden by the hood I had pulled up far over my head. If he wanted to be moody and unreasonable then fine. Wasn't my problem anymore anyway.

"Miley, I'm sure one of the elves will be more than happy to look after Sute." Balin said to the girl, who had the tiny babe in her arms even now.

"It's no trouble, really." Miley shook her head, looking down at the infant once again as it's chubby hands played with her hair.

"Don't get too attached to it." M said from next to her. "We're leaving it behind when we move on. You know that."

"Do we have to?" Miley frowned.

"That's what you agreed to lass." Dwalin nodded.

"But it's not an elf," she argued. "It will feel out of place here, Nimm, back me up!"

Before I could respond, Kili grumbled from across the table. "Don't ask _her_ for help. She thinks emotion and attachment are weaknesses that should be eradicated." I grimaced and slammed my fork down on my hand, prongs first. They dug into my flesh and hurt like crazy. Which is exactly what I wanted. Kili yelped as he felt the sudden, sharp pain. M did the same and they both glared at me angrily. I smirked sadistically beneath my hood.

"Your sick." Kili spat, shaking out his hand in an attempt to disperse the pain. I just stabbed the back of my hand again and rose from the table, stomping off to go find a stream to wash out my wound before it got infected.

I expected my anger to dissipate as my distance from that jerk grew. But it didn't. I lingered and at first I thought the jerk was following me. But after turning around and demanding he show himself, I came to the realization that they were my own feelings as well. I was angry. Angry at him, angry at myself… How did Rina and Ori do it? The two of them had not met more than a few minutes ago and they were already beaming and feeding each other at dinner. Granted, it wasn't much help since there was a bit of a size difference, but still… Kili and I couldn't even hold a conversation without ending up angry at each other.

My eyes fell to my feet as I walked slowly to a nearby stream. I crouched down on the lush grass and dipped my hand into the swiftly flowing water. I shivered at the cold and watched as the drops of crimson blood drifted away through the water. If only my emotions could do the same. To be washed clean of all these troubles and worries. Sighed and lifted my hand from the water, shaking it dry. I gazed at the pink marks on my skin. It had been a hasty reaction. But it was a small price to pay. Pain was just pain. I'd endured worse. Besides, it was only fair… the jerk.

The little pricks of blood had welled up again as I watched. I could stick it back in the water, but I knew it wouldn't stop until the wounds scabbed over and were forgotten. Just like my anger. I groaned in annoyance. Scabs took so long to heal. And leave scars…

I had to get my mind off this. The two pieces of parchment were removed from my boot and I flopped on the grass, examining them further. They still both had that one word on it. But how did it know my name?

This was something I needed to know, but had no answers to. And it annoyed me. It annoyed me so much, that I repeatedly banged my fists against the ground as I lay there thinking.

There was nothing I could do. I had to be vigilant and wait for whomever this was to reveal themselves to me.

"Lady Nimm?" I bolted upright at the sound of my name and turned to see Balin hobbling over to me.

"Who?" I frowned. "Oh right… me." I sighed as he made his way over to me.

The dwarf let out a breath as he sat down on a bench next to me. I could see his age more clearly from here. He was old. "I noticed you and Kili seem to be having a little trouble."

I shook my head. "Not at all. There's nothing in between us anymore." That was a lie. And we both knew it.

"Lass," Balin chuckled. "the two of you are One. That's what the name means. There will never again be nothing 'in between' you and the young prince. Even after death."

My brow lowered. "Why? I never asked for this."

"It's fate, lass." The elderly dwarf smiled at me. "Fate is never asked for. It is a gift given to us from greater forces."

"Greater forces?"

"Some call them Gods, Valar, Nature… Destiny." Balin raised an eyebrow. "You don't believe that everything that happens is purely luck."

"I've had some strange things happen to me." I sighed. "Random, pointless, horrible… If I ever chose to believe in these 'greater forces' as you call them, it would only be so I can hunt them down and get my revenge." I snorted. "Call me weak, or a whiner. But I can't honestly comprehend why anyone out there would want me to suffer so much."

Balin nodded. "Many times we feel that way. But we must trust that there is a reason for everything that happens."

"No. No we don't." I glared out at the setting sun, peaking over the cliff.

"It's not the prince's fault."

"I know." I grumbled. "And I don't hate him for living. But I don't want him to get hurt."

The old dwarf hummed to himself before speaking. "You don't want him to get hurt, or you don't want to risk getting hurt yourself."

I glared at the snow-bearded dwarf. "Don't judge me for that. No one _wants_ to get hurt."

"And yet here we are, on a dangerous quest to go drive a dragon from our lost home." The dwarf nodded slightly.

"Physical pain is different." I snapped back. "I can deal with it. I have, over and over again."

"Give the lad a chance." Balin sighed. "That's all I wanted to say."

"That's not going to happen." I replied immediately.

"You aren't going to have a choice."

My throat felt suddenly dry as I swallowed repeatedly. "You always have a choice."

"Not always."

I stood quickly and left the old dwarf behind me. The old windbag. Acting like he knew me. Well guess what oldie? You don't. So don't come around telling me what I should or shouldn't do.

_You don't want him to get hurt, or you don't want to risk getting hurt yourself._ The words came buzzing through my thoughts again. Like I would be the one to get hurt. Please.

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**7000 views :O *dies from shock***


	40. Chapter 40: Foreshadows

_YoumusttellMileyshecannothearshecannotsleepyoumusttellherwhenthebeginningmiddleandendoflifeconvergeuponthefieldoficethenisthetimetoactourfaterestsinheryoumusttellMiley_

My eyes once again opened to the darkness. Once again my sleep had been so rudely interrupted by the voice's dire warnings. What was I supposed to do? I told Miley already. What else could I do?

But it wasn't only the dream that woke me this time.

I sat up and saw the dwarves quickly packing in hushed whispers with many glances over their shoulders. "Is it time to go already?" I whispered to Bofur as he passed.

"Aye lassie. About time. Are you packed?" I nodded in reply and took a head a count. Miley and M were both missing.

"Where are the other two?" I hissed.

"They went to go get Sute back." The hat-wearing dwarf replied.

"What? I thought we were leaving that thing here!" the others shushed me with angry glares. I grumbled and got up to go find them, following the direction in which they were last seen leaving from. I found them within 15 minutes of aimless wandering. They were hiding rather obviously behind a bush discussing their plan.

"What do you think your doing?" They both jumped at the sound of my voice and looked back at me.

"Shush up!" M hissed back at me.

"I thought we were leaving it here."

Miley gulped nervously. "Yes… but I talked to Thorin about it… and well… He really hates elves."

"This adventure isn't any place for an infant!" I persisted. "M, I can't believe your helping her with this!"

"It's a story." M shrugged. "It's probably important. Or it'll end up back in it somehow anyway. Better to have all the cards in our hand. Don't you think?"

I growled in my throat. "Fine go fetch it quick. I need to have a little chat with Miss Miley here." M quickly left to get the baby as Miley turned to me questioningly. "Don't get attached to it." I warned her. "Even if it does survive, you'll just have to leave it behind anyway. Besides, the bad guys are after it. Its chances aren't looking good. The more attached you get, the more pain it'll cause you in the end."

"Is that why you're trying to ignore your feelings for Kili?" Miley asked bitterly.

I sputtered. "What? No. Don't make this about me! I'm trying to help you here."

"It is!" Miley gasped. "You're afraid!"

"Af… What would I be afraid of? Why does everyone keep saying that?"

"Love is nothing to be afraid of." Miley said consolingly.

"I'm not afraid of it!" I snapped back. "Has it ever occurred to any of you that I just might not be interested in a relationship?"

"Well why else would you go to all those parties back at the college?"

"Because I wanted to get high. Isn't that why _you_ went?"

"I didn't go!"

"You didn't?"

"No." Miley huffed. "No I didn't. Because I have a boyfriend and I know what kind of things go on at those places."

"A what now?" The red head gave me an annoyed look. "You have a boyfriend? I thought you were lesbian."

"No. I'm not." She growled.

"But-" we both froze as we felt a gaze pierce through us. We turned to see a woman in a flowing white dress and long blonde hair. A silver circlet sat upon her head, which was held erect with dignity. Galadriel.

"Lady Galadriel…" Miley breathed. I felt a cold sweat over me. This could get very bad very quickly if I didn't play this right. Blue eyes passed over me.

"What have you to fear child?" She asked me, bare feet gliding over ground silently. I could practically feel her probing my mind and I tried to keep her out. I didn't like people rooting around in there. The fair elven lady frowned. "You carry a great evil within you." I glared daggers at her as she looked now to Miley.

Her eyes grew wide. "The Child of the Prophecy…"

"What?" Miley asked in confusion.

"It is said, that a time of great shadow shall fall, and in the darkness, a light shall immerge. A woman with hair of brilliant red. She comes… from another world…" Miley's jaw all but dropped.

"Yeah, thanks for that." I said shoving Miley back towards the dwarves. "Now we really should be going. Thanks for the chat!" The Lady Galadriel gave me a look, but didn't make any move to stop us as we shoved along back to others.

"Wait, Nimm, this sounds important!"

"Nope. That's what messed up everything last time." I shook my head, pulling Miley even quicker.

"But what if I really am this Child of the Prophecy? Is that what your dreams for me have been about? Maybe they're trying to help me!"

"Miley just forget it okay? Nothing good will come of letting it go to your head okay?"

"But-"

"I _died_ okay?" I stopped shoving her so she could look straight into my eyes. "Because you let it get to you. That's the reason I'm here right now. That's the reason I'll probably be heading to my own demise."

A look of shame fell over her face. "M… I'm so sorry…"

"Nimm." I corrected her. "Because, thanks to you, I'm not M any more." She fell into a pained silence. "We just need to stay focused on the quest. Everyone's waiting for us. Come on."

Dawn had begun to break as Gandalf sat across from the leader of his order, Saruman the White. Lord Elrond stood by the doorway as the Lady Galadriel paced around the length of the room.

"What enemy?" Saruman scoffed. "Gandalf, the enemy is defeated. Sauron is vanquished. He can never regain his full strength."

"Gandalf, for four hundred years, we have lived in peace. A hard-won, watchful peace." Elrond shook his head.

"Are we? Are we at peace? Trolls have come down from the mountains. They are raiding villages, destroying farms. Orcs have attacked us on the road."

"Hardly a prelude to war."

"Always you must meddle." The white wizard shook his head. "Looking for trouble where none exists!"

"Let him speak."

"There is something at work beyond the evil of Smaug. Something far more powerful. We can remain blind, but it will not be ignoring us, that I can promise you. A sickness lies over the Greenwood. The woodsmen who live there now call it 'Mirkwood'. And they say..." Gandalf hesitated.

"Well, don't stop now. Tell us about the woodsmen say." Saruman scoffed.

Gandalf gave him a reproachful look. "They speak of a Necromancer living in Dol Guldur, a sorcerer who can summon the dead."

"That's absurd. No such power exists in the world. This...Necromancer is nothing more than a mortal man. A conjurer dabbling in black magic."

"And that is not all!" Gandalf shook his head. "This Necromancer is not alone." Saruman rolled his eyes and the other wizard continued. "The people of Mirkwood say his is in league with one who calls themselves the Sorceress."

"The Sorceress?" Galadriel repeated.

Gandalf looked to her. "You know of this individual?"

"I do not." The Lady Galadriel admitted. "The name seems to linger in the back of my mind, however… as if I have met them before."

"It seems to me, that there are now two mortals dabbling in black magic. Which is no more dangerous than one."

"And so I thought too. But, Radagast has seen-"

"Radagast? Do not speak to me about Radagast the Brown. He is a foolish fellow."

"Well, he's odd, I grant you. He lives a solitary life." Gandalf chuckled.

Saruman shook his head. "It's not that. It's his excessive consumption of mushrooms."

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**Oooo Foreshadowing Foreshadowing Scary Scary...**

**Sorry for the short chapter! End of the school year and all, things are getting a bit crazy.**


	41. Chapter 41: A Rocky Road(literally)

Pale spun gold sifted through the air like grains of sand through the palms of the trees. Their slender arms stretching and swaying into the open sky above. I looked out over the swaying sea of branches as the morning light filtered through the leaves, casting vague patterns on the side of the cliff upon which my hand rested as a balance to insure I did not take a nasty fall off the side of the path and into the dancing forest far below.

There was a tired hush over the company as we embarked once again. Dwalin was carrying Sute at the moment. Sometime during Rivendell, she seemed to have spontaneously grown a few months. Miley claimed it was either the proper nourishment that she had been deprived of or some sort of elvish magic. M was more suspicious. I was too weary to care.

In the back of my mind, I knew I should care. There were orcs on our tail, maybe elves too, someone orchestrating it all, and numerous challenges ahead. Of which, I knew nothing. And I couldn't talk to Miley about it and ask her what came next; she was too busy fretting over what that elven witch had told her. She needed to be guiding us. I needed to be focused, figuring out what was the deal with all of this anyway.

Needless to say, I couldn't focus. My mind continued to wander in a passive haze, drifting in any way as long as it was far removed from a certain dwarf prince. I formed walls in my thoughts and actions, making sure they avoided him completely. But I was always aware of the dark haired archer, his shadow in the corner of all my thoughts.

Rough stone slid over my palm as I walked along the narrow rocky path. I pulled my hood further over my face, trying to block out those around me. Ori walked in front of me, talking jovially to Rina who was perched comfortably on his shoulder, munching away on a biscuit. Having discovered food for the first time, she was rarely _not_ eating. The two of them were so completely comfortable and suited for each other.

So what? It's not like I needed to be in a relationship with someone. I was strong. I worked better alone anyway. I didn't need anyone. And screw anybody that said otherwise.

"Nimm! Keep up will you?" I looked up in surprise to see Miley calling back to me, a cross look on her face. I sighed and nodded, prodding my feet back into motion as we ascended higher.

Travel was quiet that day. The only attention I got was from the gnats, which seemed to swarm around me constantly as I followed the rest of the group. After about an hour of swatting them off, I resigned to suffering in silence.

The sun was hot and unbearable over the mountains, having no shade to shield the once delicate rays. There were more stones in my shoes than on the path but the end of the day, and I actually was convinced that walking barefoot would be less painful at that point.

I was full of whining and self-pity that day, accentuated by not having anyone to share it with. One would have thought I'd be happy to leave Rivendell far behind me, and I was, but reality soon set in that I had no idea what was going to happen now.

"So when are you just gonna give this up?" I jumped and looked around in surprise to see M matching my own pace besides me.

"Give what up?" I snorted, my voice husky from lack of use and water.

"I heard you aren't giving you and Kili a chance." She said.

I groaned. "Why is everyone giving me a hard time about this? If anyone should be able to understand my reasoning, it's you."

"Well I can't understand it, so you must be crazy."

"Oh come on." I glared at her. "We're in the middle of fighting for our lives. Like I really need one more complication."

"It's already a complication!" M snorted before breathing out and shaking her head. "Well then, if there's nothing between you two, then that means he's open, right?"

"What?"

"He's pretty cute." M shrugged. "It's worth a shot." The shock on my face was worth mentioning at that moment, even if no one could see it thanks to the black cloth covering my face. M did notice my silence however. "What? So it'll never go anywhere, it's not like we haven't gone through any of _those_ before."

"This is entirely different."

"For you maybe."

"We're the same person idiot."

M smirked at me. "Yeah, but is he available?"

I glared at her for a moment before looking away over the landscape. "No."

"So now you're being selfish and greedy too. Wow Nimm you just keep getting better and better."

"Shut your face, no one cares."

She laughed loudly and walked away, leaving me to momentarily hate her existence. I wallowed in self-pity the rest of the day, and into the night. I ignored anyone who tried to talk to me and generally acted like a jerk. Sleep came slowly, and when it did, it was filled with nightmares… and memories.

Warg's hot stench, filling my nostrils. It's teeth, biting through flesh. I scream. I fight. I try to get away. Large hands are grabbing me. Human hands. I can't escape. I scream. No one hears. I lay in the belly of the boat. The boat rocks back in forth as my tears refuse to fall. I am alone. Always alone. I wait for the nightmare to be over, to go home. No one comes to save me. Dad can't. Mom won't. I'm alone. I force myself to stand. I force myself to go on. To push out the thoughts. It's in the past. I pull myself together. I'm fine. I'll be fine.

Darkness of night greeted my eyes as they opened. Bofur's hat silhouetted as he sat on watch. The others were sleeping peacefully. I sat up shakily, trying to ignore the sticky glistening of sweat that had developed. I pulled my knees to my chest and waited for the shallow breaths to calm and the shadows of the past to disappear from my mind's eye. I don't know how long I was sitting there alone until my body calmed itself. It had been awhile. The night sky was starting to lighten from the arrival of the still hidden sun when I tried to go back to sleep. It had been a lonely night.

Nothing unusual, then.

The company travelled again, higher, rockier. And once more we stopped for the night. We rose again with the sun and set off again. The sun was hot on our backs. Moral was low as we marched on in silent condemnation. No longer did we clump along a path, chatting gaily amongst each other. Instead it was a long drawn out trail with feet or yards in between one person and the next. Sute cried the first half of the day and slept for the rest of it. Her cries grew quieter each day. The air was thinner in this higher elevation. And with our slowly depleting rations, Miley had to split her own share between herself and the infant. Everyone was struggling. Even Thorin was agreeing to short rests more frequently.

"Catch your breath quickly and we move on!" The dwarves voice called to us as the eleven of us collapsed on the larger rocks. He said we'd be moving on quickly, but we knew that wouldn't be the case. We were all exhausted.

Oin passed out pitifully small portions of food, which we all inhaled immediately. Except for Balin, Dwalin, and Thorin. They nibbled on their portions slowly, as they told us to do as well. Probably something they learned from the flee from Erebor. I closed my eyes to the sun as we sat, recovering. The sun was really hot up this high.

"Is that a storm cloud?" I looked up at someone's words, turning to the sky. We had seen dark clouds earlier, far on the horizon, but they were far off. But there, blowing near was a small dark cloud. It was moving incredibly fast. And there was no wind in the air.

"That's not a cloud." Fili shook her head.

"It's a space station." M whispered from next to me. I spared a moment to glare at her before the others sprung into motion.

"Crebain! Hide yourself!" Boots scuffled over rock as everyone rushed for cover. I squinted at the cloud, seeing the flap of feathered wings and hundreds of black crows swarmed in our direction. Kili ran past to hide underneath over hanging rocks, pulling me with him as we quickly crouched low in the rock's cover. The whole area was silent for a moment, with nothing but my heart beat hammering in my ears. Then everything interrupted into caws and the flapping of wings. I pulled my head lower, silently hoping that we wouldn't be found. I didn't know how much these crebain were like the crows back home. But if the others' reactions were anything to go by, they were pretty bad.

I held my breath, trying to 'erase my presence' or something like that. To become invisible. To disappear. My arms were tense as they kept me pressed against the ground, ready to spring into action at a moment's notice. Were the others okay?

After too long, the caws left, the rustling of wings diminished, and the cliff top returned to silence. Only after this silence lasted a good while did everyone begin to show themselves. Kili's hand let go of my arm as he crawled out of the crevice. I stayed back for a moment, staring in surprise at where his hand had just been. It was warm.

I snapped myself back to the present and quickly joined the others. Everyone was accounted for and unharmed. We had been lucky, Dwalin said.

"Do you think they spotted us?" Ori asked meekly, holding Rina protectively.

"I cannot tell." Thorin growled under his breath.

"Why? What happens if they spot us?" M asked warily.

"In olden days, the crebain acted as spies for forces of evil." Balin told her. "But it has been a long time since anyone has seen a murder of so many."

"Dark things are stirring." Thorin looked to the others. "And I do not like it."

I quite agreed with him.

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**For how long this chapter was, very little happened. Hmmm... I'll try to make the next one more exciting.**

**Review if you want :)**


	42. Chapter 42: Under the Stars

**Just a heads up, Nimm swears a little more than usual in this chapter *sigh***

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It's dark. The hollow sounds of metal fill the air. Still air. I am inside… underground? The dragon. There lay the dragon. Why is the dragon here? Where am I? Flame and fire. The world around me burns. Broken charred corpses lay before me. Miley, M, Ori and little Rina… Kili… No. No no no no no. This is a dream. A nightmare. It has to be. It didn't make any sense. Wake up. Wake up you idiot. Not fire. Mom… MOM! Let me go I have to save her! Let me save her! Please! Please… please…

"-mm, Nimm wake up." The hot flames faded from view, replaced by darkness. "Nimm!" the voice hissed, cutting through my drowsiness as I forced myself back into consciousness.

It was still dark out. Stars, unhindered by electric lights or a canopy of trees, hung in the sky far above. A dark silhouette blocking them directly overtop of me as someone peered at my face. I almost shouted in alarm, but instead just jumped up suddenly in shock, banging foreheads with the person in front of me. The person quickly leaned away, rubbing their forehead in pain as I did the same. Kili.

"What the hell was that for?" I hissed at him.

"Well excuse me for trying to help." He hissed back, before his voice softened. "You were having a nightmare."

"No duh." I grimaced, pulling my legs to my chest. "But that's not reason to scare the crap out of someone. Why are you even awake at this hour?"

"I'm on watch." Kili explained dryly. I huffed in annoyance. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Why the hell would I want to talk about a nightmare?" I snapped, quieting, half way through my sentence in an attempt not to wake the others.

"Because sometimes talking through things that upset you helps." Kili raised an eyebrow.

"Who says I'm upset? I'm not upset over some nightmare you jerk."

"Of course you're upset." Kili sighed, standing. "Whenever you get upset you always start swearing a lot."

"What the-…. I do not." I glared at him.

"Mhmm." He merely hummed, offering a hand to help me up. "Well since your awake anyway, you might as well help me keep watch." I stood, but didn't accept his help. I wasn't some weak wimp who couldn't even stand up on her own. Kili shrugged at my stubbornness and walked over to the large rock, which he had been sitting on top of as he kept watch. His bow and quiver still sat there as we climbed up the side to sit upon the edge. It was a nice view.

"I'd been meaning to teach how to shoot." He said randomly, motioning to the weapon at his side. "I guess I never found the time."

"So what? Your done hating me now and we can go back to be civil with each other?" I asked. It came out harsher than I intended to, and his silence didn't help. I swallowed and looked away. "Sorry. That was uncalled for."

"No… it's fine." Kili shook his head.

"No it's not." I snapped. "You're trying to be nice to me, and all I can do is… I don't know… be mean!" Kili did not disagree. A chilled wind blew; flapping through my cloak and blowing my hood back to let the light from the stars fill my eyes. It really was a beautiful night. I sighed and looked over at Kili, who quickly glanced away. "Sorry." I muttered again, looking down at the rest of the company.

"Your dream…" Kili spoke up after awhile. "What was it?"

I let out a quiet laugh before shaking my head, as if to clear it. "The dragon… came a burned everyone." I pulled my knees to my chest. "Everyone died." Kili said nothing, but I could feel the sympathy and pity coming off him in waves.

"I don't like fire." I admitted. "When I was younger… our house caught fire. We still don't know how it happened but..."

"You lost something in the fire?" Kili guessed gently.

"My mom… she got trapped in the falling debris… the firefighters couldn't find her in time." I inhaled loudly through my nose, trying to retain some of the snot and tears that were threatening to leak out. "She said she would always be there for me. Whenever I was sad or angry or scared… she told me not to be, because she would always be there, watching out for me." I picked up a loose stone and tossed in aimlessly in my hand. "And I really believed her. I thought… that she would always keep me safe." I caught the rock and hurled it far, sailing over the mountain to clatter down the cliff below. "But we're only human." The echoing of the rock ceased and was replaced by the quiet whistling of the breeze.

"I don't really remember my father." Kili spoke. "He died when I was very young, during the battle of Moria." I looked over at him, to see Kili staring fixed on the horizon. "I can't even remember his face. Just how sad Amad was. She was always sad. Some of the other kids would pick on me, for having no beard and no father. But Ma told me I did have a father. My father was still looking out for me from the stars." We both looked up at the twinkling sky. "But the stars always looked… so cold. So far away."

"Stars are just big burning masses of hydrogen and helium." I said, though my voice was quiet and lost in thought. "They're just like the sun… except farther away." I let myself flop onto my back to look fully at the sky. "They're nothing special." I heard the sound of Kili flopping down next to me.

"But they still are beautiful." He whispered to the wind.

I smiled. "They sure are."

Kili's fingers brushed mine from where they rested on the cold stone. I let my hand intertwine with his naturally as we lost ourselves in the endless sky. The stars were so bright.

"SHO GAD ADOL!"

We both sprang up immediately. Kili grabbed his bow, automatically notching an arrow to it. A whole pack of wargs was charging atop the mountain towards the company. Most of who were already spring up at the sound of attack.

"Shit." I hissed under my breath as I hurried down from the rock. Kili let loose two shots before following. Only one hit its mark. The company was in a fury of confusion as the wargs pounded closer. We didn't have a chance as we were. Outnumbered, slower, and no shelter whatsoever.

I don't know whom it was that shouted for everyone to run, but someone did, and we all ran. The wargs were on us in seconds. We all began fighting like mad men, doing everything we could to fend off the warg's snapping jaws and the orc's crude weapons. Adrenaline rushed through me and I felt neither the pain nor the exhaustion as I continued to fight. But the battle quickly turned against us. It was looking pretty hopeless when the orcs were suddenly called off their attack and raced off past us and into the mountains. We all looked to each other in confusion, all of us covered in cuts and scrapes, some a little worse off than others. Bofur's arm hung limply at his side, and Fili was sporting a nasty looking gash on her head.

"What was that?" M asked aloud, voicing all our thoughts.

"Orcs never leave their prey." Dwalin growled suspiciously.

"Miley-" Bofur looked around quickly. "They took Miley!" Everyone looked around to see that the young woman was, in fact, gone. And so was Sute.

"Damn!" I screamed, punching a bolder in anger. The orcs didn't leave their prey. Because we hadn't been it. They'd been after the kid the whole time!

It was around this time that Fili crumpled to the ground.

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**Well... THAT wasn't supposed to happen.**


	43. Chapter 43: The Fault is Mine

"We have to go after them!" I shouted to the others.

"They are on wargs, we are on foot and have injured men." Thorin growled at me before turning to where the others were crowded around the unconscious Fili. There was an awful lot of blood coming from the gash in her head. Oin was shouting out instructions to the others as he did his best to contain it.

Kili stood back, frozen in silent horror.

_Someone should comfort him…_ the thought entered my head. _Tell him it'll be all right_. Where was Miley? She's good at that sort of thing. Oh, right… captured by wargs. I needed to get her back. What would they do to her? It was Sute they wanted after all! What if those filthy orcs realize that Miley's expendable? What if-

"Lass!" someone shouted in my direction. "Lend a hand!" The voice probed me into action as I hurried forward to kneel in between the other dwarves around Fili. The others shouted around me, working quickly and I found myself given the task of putting pressure on the wound in an attempt to stop the flow of blood. It reeked of iron and dirt.

It was alarming how motionless Fili was. Even as Oin poured most of our remaining water over the wound to clean it and then stitched the skin back together with supplies from his bag. Everyone sat back as Oin finished with a thick bandage around her head.

The dwarf pronounced there was nothing more he could do and turned to treat Bofur's wound.

I took a seat a little bit away from the group, looking down at my blood soaked hands. We didn't have enough water as it was, so it was out of the question using the remaining supply just to clean my hands. But I didn't like the feel of it. Blood soaked hands… it felt wrong. Like it was my fault.

It was.

I felt bile rising in my throat as I realized this. Kili had been on watch. He should have seen them coming! But because of me…

"Dammit." I whispered under my breath as my head hung between blood stained hands. "dammit…"

It didn't take too long for the others to realize this as well. Thorin stormed over to Kili immediately, who had not moved an inch since Fili collapsed. "You were on watch! You were supposed to prevent anything like this from happening!" the archer did not respond as hollow eyes gazed in horror at his older sister. Thorin grabbed the front of his coat roughly, trying to snap him out of it. "You could have stopped this!"

"Leave him alone!" I shouted over my shoulder. "Can't you see? He knows it already! Besides… I'm the one at fault, not him." Well this did a good job of getting Kili a break. I sighed as almost everyone's attention turned to me.

"How so?" Thorin asked through narrowed eyes.

"I had a nightmare." I said quietly. "Kili was just trying to comfort me." The next thing I knew, Thorin had me raised against the rock face, my feet dangling from the ground.

"So all of this," he spat "Is because of your selfishness! You have brought nothing but misfortune and grief to this quest!"

"So what?" I coughed, trying to act tough. The arm that pinned me, cutting off my air supply, certainly wasn't helping. "What will you do about it? Kill me? Go ahead! See if I care!" Thorin's eyes flashed dangerously, and I could see he was sorely tempted. "You think I-" my sentence was broken off by a wheeze as Thorin's grip tightened. "-don't know- I'm cursed? Everywhere I go, I end up ru-ruining _everything_." I gritted my teeth and forced myself to glare straight into Thorin's eyes. "So once this quest is done go ahead and kill me." I was starting to see spots of color. "But not yet. I have… to save Miley… first…" My vision was going dark as Thorin gritted his teeth in anger before releasing me suddenly and turning away. I hit the ground hard, coughing uncontrollably as I tried to breath again.

Thorin watched me wheeze at his feet. "You receive more mercy than you deserve." I watched as his boots walked away to go check on the others. I just sat there, recovering my breath. I pulled my mask and hood up quickly and tried to calm myself. I was alone again. And I was fine.

After a good while, M came over and sat down next to me. She didn't say anything for a bit, then whacked me across the back of the head.

"What the hell was that for?" I snapped at her.

"For being an idiot." She mumbled to herself. "Making that dumb self-righteous speech. Almost made you sound ok for a second."

I looked over at M in surprise to see her looking purposefully in the other direction. "Hey… you aren't crying, are you?"

"Shut up." Came the muffled reply. She still refused to look at me. To my own surprise, I started laughing. It wasn't loud or obnoxious, not a laugh that would draw attention. But I couldn't stop myself. How could anything I do, move myself to tears?

It was funny, if you think about it. The same person, sitting side by side. One in tears, the other in fits of laughter.

I really am a mess.

_I held Sute close to me as the orcs milled about around us. They hadn't hurt us, not yet. But I was worried they were going to. I'd tried to get information from them, ask them what they wanted, where they were taking us. The orcs just snarled and went about their business._

_And their business was far far worse then I could possibly have imagined. They were like a clutch of newborn chicks, with no regard for those around them, just trying to feed themselves. But there was nothing cute about them. They were all claws and fangs. Armor, weapons, rotting flesh, blood…_

_I hadn't bothered to see what they were eating. It was neither fresh nor cooked, and after a maggot crawled by my foot from the orc's direction, I was positive I had no interest in the details of their culinary habits._

_Instead I focused on anything else. Sute wasn't crying, thankfully. The little dear was sleeping peacefully enough. Though how anyone could sleep with that racket was far beyond me._

_A wet, foul smelling claw grabbed my shoulder and yanked me to my feet, dragging me to a warg as the others began mounting their own beasts._

_"Where are you taking me?" I demanded of the orc behind me. It just snarled and laughed in a cruel chuckle as it dragged me onto the warg's back. And we started off again._

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**Fili! WHY ARE YOU NOT AWAKE YET? Ughhhhhhhh I have plans for these chapters y'know? But do the characters _listen_ to those plans? of course not!**

**Review if you want :)**


	44. Chapter 44: The Danger of Head Wounds

**This chapter is a doozy so if you feel super confused by the end, don't worry about it, I'm still trying to work out what just happened :|**

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That night was cold, as I remember it. The company was exposed on the rocky elevation and all our blankets and most coats were given to keep Fili warm. She still hadn't woken up. Likewise, Kili had not moved. He just sat, kneeling on the hard stone, staring at his sister with a vague expression of horror. Everyone was starting to worry about him.

I felt that I was not currently in high enough favor with everyone to try and console him. The fact remained that I did not know if he blamed me for what happened.

I did not sleep that night.

For the sake of the others, I pretended to. But too many thoughts were flying through my head. Guilt, worry, sadness… The air was too cold to sleep anyway. I would just end up having bad dreams. And those had caused enough trouble to begin with.

Miley, please be okay.

I was able to watch the sunrise. That was a good thing. Though I wasn't able to enjoy it. It was a brilliant orange that slowly lit up the sky, bringing the world around back into color. The others began to stir around me. From the looks of it, none of them had gotten much sleep either.

Then Fili woke up.

None of us would have noticed it if not for Kili's sudden movement.

The young archer, who had remained nearly motionless for the past several hours, burst into action, scrabbling over the stone to tightly embrace his sister who had been dozing, but was now very much away.

"Kee?" Fili asked aloud. "Kili what's wrong? Are you okay?"

"We're the ones who should be asking you that." Oin said, coming over immediately. "You've been unconscious nearly a full day!" Everyone was quickly crowding around by this point, looking to see for herself if she was all right.

"Well, I've got a nasty headache but other than that…" Fili smiled slightly, ruffling the top of Kili's head. She made eye contact with Thorin, who nodded to her but had an obvious smile of relief on his face. She nodded back politely before looking down at Kili. "Are you sure you're alright Kili?"

When at last Kili did reply, his voice was muffled and chocked. "I thought you were going to die! You- you might have died. And I didn't know what to do Fee… There was nothing I could do!"

"I'm fine now." Fili chuckled, ruffling his hair a bit more like he was still a small child. "It'll take more than a few orcs to do me in."

"You gave us quite a scare lass." Bofur shook his head smiling. Fili gave him an odd look before looking down at Kili again and, giving him another firm pat on the back, pulled herself away to sit up properly on her own. Kili was quickly wiping away tears as he forced a smile. Fili smirked at him before looking around at the others.

"Where are the others?"

The company shared a look before Bofur replied. "T-they… they took Miley."

"…Who?" Everyone stared at Fili in confusion. "But everyone else… did they go scouting? I didn't think Bombur would be the best dwarf for they job…" she glanced at Bofur. "No offense meant." Fili took another look around. "…Where is everyone?"

"The only ones missing are Miley and Sute." Kili said anxiously.

"Who's this 'Miley' you all keep talking about? But what do you mean the only ones. What about Gloin… Dori and Nori… Bifur and Bombur… Bilbo?"

"Lass, I don't know who you're talking about." Dwalin shook his head. I too was equally confused, as seemed everyone else. I had hoped these names were someone that the others knew from somewhere, dwarves maybe, but they all just looked at each other in confusion and worry.

Then Fili's eyes grew wide and she stared straight at Dwalin in alarm. "Did you just call me 'lass'?"

Dwalin pulled a face. "Aye… I always call you that?"

"Lie down for a moment." Oin instructed, already trying to lower the dwarf back to the bed of blankets, but she did not seem to want to.

"Always… why would you ever call me that?" Fili shook her head in confusion. "Kili, have you ever heard him call me that?"

"Often?" Kili replied, looking very very worried.

"Are you feeling alright there lassie?" Bofur asked with concern.

It was at this that Fili broke into a smile and chuckled before shaking her head as if to clear it. "Ah very funny. Alright, alright I fell for it." The gnawing in the pit of my stomach seemed to be growing by the second. The head wound must have been… much worse than we had thought. Then Fili looked over and M and I. She gave us a look of confusion. "Where did you two come from? Uncle, do you know them?"

Thorin opened his mouth to speak but M cut him off. "What do you mean? We've been traveling with you for weeks now."

"Lass, you're my patient and I am telling you to lie down, understand?"

"Alright, I got the joke, very funny." Fili said tightly, seeming slightly unnerved.

"Joke?" Oin echoed, adjusting his ear trumpet.

"Yes, joke. Calling me 'lass' and 'lassie', surely a prank you all came up with while I was out. Who's idea was it? Yours Kili?" Though her voice was still low and quiet, you could hear the tension in her voice.

"Fili…"

"It wasn't a prank lass," Bofur frowned. "I'm so-"

"Wasn't a prank?" Fili chuckled. "Why else would any of you be calling me lass then?"

Dwalin shrugged with a scowl. "Because you are one?"

Fili looked up at him, opening her mouth to reply, then paused. After a moment she looked down and examined her body before looking up at Kili with a very blank expression. "Am I hallucinating? You said I had a head wound?"

"Aye." Oin nodded. "It seems to have messed around with your head a good bit."

"Kili," Fili said leaning over and whispering in her brother's ear. "It seems, by my observations that I may have become a woman."

Kili looked back at her blankly. "You were always a woman... well, female at any rate."

"But you see Kee…" Fili frowned. "I am quite certain that I am… was… never female." The two siblings stared at each other blankly for a moment. Then Fili leaned back and resumed talking at a volume easily heard. "But putting that aside, you all seemed confused about the others…"

"There aren't any others la-… Fili." Bofur quickly corrected himself.

"Well I'm quite certain I didn't hallucinate them. Bombur is quite impressionable…" She looked around at everyone and took in their pale faces. "In truth, this whole morning has seemed very surreal to me. Can none of you remember them? Not even Bilbo Baggins? Our lucky number? The burglar?"

"I don't know anything about a burglar or lucky number," I found myself speaking. "But Gandalf did once mention a Baggins. But he seemed confused when I asked him about it." a few of the others nodded in recognition to my statement.

"Well at least you all remember Gandalf." Fili sighed in relief. "When did he say this?"

"At the trollshaws." Balin spoke.

"Ah, see I remember that as well." Fili nodded. "It was raining and our we had lost one of our ponies in the storm." She looked around to the others for confirmation. "And we were hungry but we had lost all our food. So… we sent Bilbo… too scout out the fire…" Fili frowned in confusion. "Or did we? But weren't Kili and I watching to ponies?"

"Aye," Kili nodded. "But one of the trolls slipped past our guard and…" he glanced quickly in Thorin's direction. "Stole four of the ponies."

"Odd." Fili said. "I remember that as well. We had rabbit stew that night. But somehow I also remember how cold and miserable we were while waiting for Bilbo to come back."

"I don't know who this Bilbo is." Kili shook his head.

But Fili wasn't listening. "This whole quest… it feels… muddled. There are events that I know happened, but they happened in another way just the same. Do head wounds usually do this?"

"Feeling muddled or confused is common." Oin nodded.

"I'll end up like Bifur." Fili laughed. "Only speaking Khuzdul." Everyone stared at her, but Bofur let out a faint laugh. Though when everyone looked at him, his face showed only more confusion.

"I have all these memories but…" Fili look straight at M and I. "You aren't in any of them. So who are you?"

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**I told you it was a doozy.  
**


	45. Chapter 45: Into Action

Oin had ordered all of us to let Fili be while she rested. Confusion aside, she and Bofur were still in no condition to be traveling just yet. Though both claimed they could be ready to move out at a moments notice. Thorin, however, listened to the physician and decided to wait here tomorrow before moving on again.

I did not like that decision. I did not like it one bit.

Because although Fili and Bofur did need time to heal and recover, every day we spent here was another day that Miley's life was at risk. If she was even still alive.

It was just past midday when I casually made my way over to M, packed and ready to move. She noticed immediately and raised one eyebrow questioningly.

"We need to go find Miley." I told her. It was not a command, but a statement. And she nodded in agreement.

"Just the two of us?"

"We need to be discreet."

"If we brought just one more. Someone with a little more knowledge of the world, it would improve our chances." M shrugged walking over slowly to her own pack as to not raise any alarm.

"They would notice."

"They'll notice anyway." She rolled her eyes. "What about Kili?"

"No…" I shook my head quickly. "He's too worried about his sister." While this was true, it wasn't the real reason for my hesitance. He had actually seemed much better now that his sister had woken. Her words of confidence had helped him greatly. The real reason…

"Why not Ori then?" M broke through my thoughts. I quickly abandoned them as I focused on a less painful topic.

"Ori?"

"He'll be the least noticed to be missing. And Rina as well. She's not a ghost anymore but her size may prove useful."

"…Alright." I made a face. "Can you convince him to come?"

"Easily."

"Good. Then I'll start out. You two follow in a bit, make an excuse if anyone notices." She gave me a look of 'obviously that's what I should do I don't need you to tell me'. I nodded and stood; heading the way the orcs had left nearly two days ago.

"Where are you going lass?" Dwalin called to me.

"We need water." I replied, not looking at him. "I'm going to go look for a river up ahead."

"You shouldn't go by yourself." He said.

I stopped and shrugged before continuing. "I won't go far, don't worry." Yeah right. I doubt he believed me for even a moment, but the dwarf made no effort to stop me as I continued farther along the path until I was out of sight. After going just a bit further, I stopped to for the others. Hopefully M had convinced Ori and Rina to come. She was right that they could definitely be helpful. But Ori wasn't the best when it came to stealth, so we couldn't rely on that. The only way to survive any conflict would have to be through wit alone.

After what I estimated to be a few minutes, M appeared, coming up the path, Ori right behind her looking rather frightened. The tiny form of Rina was perched upon his shoulder.

"Took you long enough." I said a little harshly.

"We were trying not to look suspicious." M snapped back.

"Whatever, we need to move." And we started out, talking little as we went. The orcs had a two-day head start and wargs. Our chance of finding Miley was slim. But we had to at least try.

We picked up the orc's trail quickly enough. With tracks and warg dung leading in a pretty constant trail into the mountains. As we reached higher altitudes, the path got narrower. Enough so that the wargs _must_ have walked in single file to pass. And I realized how lucky I was not to be afraid of heights. It was a long drop to the bottom.

Then the storm came.

It started with winds that blew in our faces and whipped around us, forcing the three of us to cling to the cliff side in fear of falling off. And the rain started falling in waves crashing upon the rocks making them slippery and treacherous. It soaked us in seconds then froze us as the wind came whipping around again. I could hardly see through wet hair and rain, and keeping my footing was nearly impossible.

I am ashamed to say I jumped every time that thunder ripped across the sky, and whenever it did, each of us tensed, for fear of a rockslide or something of that sort.

We clung to the cliff and each other as we continued along. Though adrenaline kept us from feeling the cold, we were all shivering. Rina had long since hidden herself deep in Ori's coat. She was probably soaked as well.

It was hard enough to see our own feet, let alone look for shelter. So we just kept going until the rain stopped or we fell to our deaths.

In order to block out the elements, my mind started chanting silently, like a prayer. Please stop raining. Please stop raining. Please stop raining.

Mostly likely the others were doing just the same. Or something similar. Ori might have actually been praying for real. Dwarves have a god, right? Mahal or something like that…

Please stop raining.

The ground shook and we were forced to stop until our path stilled again. I don't know if I was hallucinating or whether what I saw was real, but through the rain and the thunder, it looked as if the mountains had come to life and starting a boxing match. A boxing match that involved giant boulder throwing.

Whether that was what really happened or just what I thought was happening, it didn't really matter. Because, somehow, a giant boulder did smash into the cliff above us, and a cascade of rocks did fall on us, and we did get hit by them, and we did get knocked off the edge of the cliff into the deep chasm below.

And everything went black.

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**AAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh*splat***


	46. Chapter 46: Chapter Where Stuff Happens

**Sorry, not sorry.**

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It was a gray haze. Was I dead? No… maybe… It was hard to tell. This gray mist was like the not death I had experienced so many times before. But this time it was different.

Besides, I could sleep for real now. I could die for real too. Probably… What was going on?

I waited for something to happen. But nothing did. I did not awaken, nor did I reappear in my dorm room back in the real world. "Hello?" I shouted through the mist. I don't know what I expected to happen. There was no reason for anyone to be there. But to my surprise, I was answered.

"You've been very reckless Mary Sue." I tried to turn around to find the voice. But I couldn't turn around. I didn't really have a body after all. "How are you expecting to save Miley when you keep dying all the time?"

"Who are you? Show yourself! How do you know me?" The voice was so familiar, but I just couldn't place it.

"This is the last time I'll be able to save you. You knew that, yet still you went off on your own through storm and battle."

"Mom?" I wondered aloud. The voice laughed merrily. No… someone else. "Who are you then?"

"I need to send you back now. M, Ori, and Rina are all probably worried about you."

"How do you of them?"

"Spoilers."

"Wait… last time I'll be able to save you… What does that mean?"

The world flashed into reality around me as I struggled to open my eyes. Tall rock faces towered around me, stretching up into the sky. Right… we had fallen. I must have had some amazing luck. Any normal person would have died from a fall like that. My brain felt odd, like when you wake up in the morning, and the edge of a dream still sits on the edge of your mind, but you can't seem to remember it. I looked around, surprisingly unhurt. M was on the ground on my one side, Ori on the other.

I sat up quickly, surveying the rubble around us. The crevice stretched out in either direction, bending out of sight. The cliff was far too high to even consider climbing. "M." I hissed. "M, wake up." The brunette's eyes flew open and she quickly sat up, also uninjured.

"We're alive?" she voiced in surprise. "How are we alive?"

"I don't know. Story stuff. We're not really in a position to complain." I shook my head before looking over to Ori. "Ori. Are you awake? Ori?" I nudged his shoulder and it nudged back as a frazzled Rina climbed out of his coat.

"You okay?" M asked her; even as tiny as she was we could see the vague confusion on her face.

"i…" Rina started, her words fumbling to form themselves. "i can't.. o-ori… ori?" she looked down at the motionless dwarf beneath her. "Ori!" M rushed over to look at him while I immediately felt for a pulse.

"He's…" I looked down at the dwarf in shock.

"dead." Rina finished in horror. "no… it's not true. it can't be true. Ori… ORI!" I sat back in shock, my still blood red hands running through my hair as I tried to figure out what had just happened. "please… ori… my love don't leave me. Please."

"How?" M shook her head. "How did this happen? We were unscathed… How come he… This isn't right. This isn't fair!" I stared at the body, only now noticing the dried blood that covered the front of his coat. Most likely a collapsed lung or something of that sort.

"ori…"

"I'm the one who convinced him to come…" M realized, her voice quavering. "I guilted him into this… It's my fault. I'm the reason he's dead…"

"No! This isn't your fault." I snapped. "The only reason any of us are here is because Miley got captured. And the only reason Miley got captured was because of me."

"he's dead…" Rina continued to sob. "ori… dead…"

Now what? What were we supposed to do? We couldn't just leave his body here. But we had to keep moving and find a way out of this gorge.

"HOW DARE YOU TAKE HIM AWAY FROM ME?" Rina's scream echoed through the stone, sending down the clatter of pebbles from the surrounding heights. She kneeled on his still chest, crying curses to the skies. "THIS IS YOUR FAULT! YOU KILLED HIM! WHY? HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME? WHAT DID I EVER…what did I ever do… to deserve this? I WILL KILL YOU FOR THIS! YOU HEAR ME? I'LL MAKE YOU SUFFER JUST AS I HAVE!" I could do nothing but stare. "I'LL MAKE YOU PAY… I swear it…"

The echoes faded into the distance. No one moved. No one dared to even breathe. Then, slowly, Rina stood, gazing down at her love. "Come on."

"Rina…" M started hesitantly.

"We have to go." Rina said firmly. "We are going to make it to the end of this book and then…" M and I shared a glance. She knew this was a story? "And then I'll find her. And I'll get him back… or I'll get my revenge."

In the end, we split up. M going one way, Rina and I the other. It wasn't the smartest of decisions but we agreed that splitting up was the best way to get something to happen. And we were right.

Rina and I had not been traveling more than fifteen minutes when some horribly misshapen creatures ambushed us from the shadows. Or more accurately, ambushed me. It was too late to draw a weapon, so my fists were the only options. And I hit and kicked and punched and bit(once but it was disgusting so I didn't do that any more) but I was far too outnumbered and I was dragged down into the mountain and into the town of the Goblins.

Rickety walkways and open flames danced in a web around me as I was shoved and dragged into the center of the filthy hive. When I was finally able to get my bearings, I had been forced to my knees in front of a throne. I looked up to find, sitting upon that throne, a large bloated goblin, who towered above the rest, picking his teeth with an old, broken bone shard. Slowly, he noticed the goblin swarm's anticipation and looked down at me lazily. One eye, that was not partially closed due to warts and such, opened widely as a smile spread onto his face.

"Well well… what do we have here?" The higher pitched voice did not seem to hit with his body, giving the brooding figure an almost comical aspect. I opened my mouth to speak but Rina hissed in my ear stopping me.

"Don't let them see your face. Just move along with my words. I'll talk you out of this." I paused, trying to understand exactly what I was being told. Rina had a plan… so I just had to play along, right?

"You insolent fool!" Rina's voice boomed from next to my ear. Compared to how tiny she was, the volume was impressive, and seemed quite a normal volume to the goblins who looked somewhat taken aback by my/Rina's exclamation. "We had a bargain you mewling worm." Rina continued to berate. To match the words, I forced myself to stand up straight and look more intimidating that I really felt. I wasn't sure what Rina was planning, but I would have to trust her.

"And whom are you to claim I have struck a bargain with?" The large creature raised an incredulous eyebrow.

"Well what did you expect me to look like you slime?" Rina hissed dangerously.

The yellow face of the goblin paled slightly and regarded me warily. His next words came out in no more then a hushed whisper. "The Sorceress."

"I will forgive the rudeness of your minions this once! But if I ever find such ill treatment again I will wipe out this entire mountain with you inside. Remember that." The large goblin gulped but said nothing.

"pace slowly." Rina whispered in my ear before raising her voice once again. I moved my stiff feet into action, prowling about the small wooden platform while trying to hide the trembling that was threatening to make my legs give out at any moment.

Rina continued. "Your mandate has been changed. One of the orc squadrons has gone renegade. They have the infant in their possession. You are to hunt them down."

"They did?" The goblin asked incredulously.

"Do not make me repeat myself scum." At this I paused my pacing and glared at him out of the corner of my eye.

He gulped. "Ah no, no your evilness! Just… just that an orc pack has recently set up camp in the lower caverns. We were about to do something about them, but they claimed to be acting on your orders… they had your letter… and so we let them be."

"The filth!" Rina exclaimed in fake anger. "They disobey me yet dare to do so under my name? Bring them to me! The girl and the infant as well!" The goblins surged away with a nod from their leader and slowly the clamor died into the distance.

"face him and stay relaxed." The tiny woman instructed from beneath my hood. I did so, cursing how tense I had become. Everything that was happening… the goblins, the sorceress… was she S? Who was she? And how did Rina seem to know what was going on? Rina began talking again and interrupted my thoughts.

"Your cooperation will be rewarded in due time." She promised the Goblin King.

"Y-yes." The creature nodded hesitantly, as if he knew something was off. "If you don't mind me asking… your evilness… Why did you not merely contact me through the letter? N-Not that I'm not honored by your presence!"

Rina paused for a moment, as if trying to come up with what to say next. "The letters have been compromised. Until further notice, do not trust what they say."

A glint appeared in the goblin's eye. "It would seem, supreme evilness, that not everything is going as you planned, now is it?"

"Hold your tongue!" Rina snapped bitterly. "Do not be clouding your head with fruitless thoughts of betrayal! I can fill your position just as well with a corpse."

"I a-assure you that I had no such thoughts!" The king quickly shook his head, the lump of flesh under his chin wobbling back and forth.

"Very well." Rina replied coolly before whispering to me. "now turn to look away." But I had already started, for presently; the clamor of goblins was drawing nearer. From the wave of mutated goblins, about a dozen orcs were produced, each being forced to their knees, weapons removed and hands bound behind their backs. But it was not they that I had seen, but one red haired female among the horde.

Miley.

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**Hm... I bet you have no idea was going on, do you?(because I definitely don't)**

**Review if you want *stares at you impatiently until you do***


	47. Chapter 47: Culinary Laws in the Dark

**Sorry about how confusing last chapter was. For I, who knows what's going on, it makes complete sense...**

**This chapter won't really give you any answers though. Sorry. We'll see how this goes...**

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[The following chapter will be told from M's perspective.]

It was dark and cold in the tunnels. The eerie sound of dripping stalagmites sent chills down my spine as I groped my way through the darkness. Nimm and Rina had long since left me by now, and I was quite certain that I was lost.

"This is stupid." I whispered aloud to myself and my foot stubbed into another rock. Why was I even here in the first place? If Miley hadn't been an idiot and gotten caught I could still be back with the others, safe and dry, instead of crawling around dark, dank, abandoned tunnels. At least, I hoped they were abandoned.

The fact of the matter was that I was lost and I had no chance of finding my way out again save for pure luck. And luck generally wasn't something that I put a lot of stock in.

My progress was not at all helped by the large tome strapped to my back. Ori's journal. Since there was no hope of bringing his body back, I thought that… maybe something… to remember him by. If I made it out alive myself.

"Bless us and splash us, precious! _That's_ a meaty morsel." The hairs along my neck stood on end as slowly. I turned around.

Peering out of the darkness were two huge, pale eyes, which almost seemed to glow with their own light in the darkness. I could not see to what they belonged.

"W-who are you?" my voice quavered unnaturally.

"Who are we precious? It asks us does it? Does we answer?" The orb like eye peered at me closer. "Just a taste first precious. Just a taste…" I backed up immediately.

"Ho… Hold on!" I said loudly, my volume startling the creature for a moment as it backed up a bit. "You can't just go eating people as you please!"

"We can't precious?" The thing asked indignantly.

"N-no! Of course not!" I shook my head. "You need… their permission first… obviously…"

"Why's that precious? Never needed a permission before." The eyes zoomed close to my face. "What's a… permission… precious?"

"Why do you keep saying that?" I made a face, starting to master my fear a little. "Precious this, precious that!"

"We're talking to our precious, precious." The thing explained. I opened my mouth to reply, and then decided it wasn't worth the effort. One of my hands was placed on the rough stonewall next to me. I tried to focus on that, to clear my head.

"Well… since you don't have permission, you can't eat me. And since you can't eat me… maybe you can help me out." I continued to back up, putting more distance between the thing and myself.

The thing made this horrible sound in the back of his throat before creeping forward again. "Help? It needs our help precious. Could it be… lost?"

"…Yes." I replied hesitantly. "Yes, I am lost, and I was hoping you could show me the way out of this mountain."

"Now why would we do that precious when we can just eat you? Gollum Gollum." I backed away more. Whatever illness this thing had, I wanted no part in it.

"But you can't eat me, remember?"

"We can't precious. Why?"

"Because…" I drawled the word out, extending it as I thought for an answer. "Eating someone without permission is against the rules."

"Rules? It likes rules, does it precious?" The thing grinned in the dark. It's voice suddenly cheery and bright. "Does it like games precious?"

"Uh… um maybe?" I frowned. "But right now I really just want to get out of this mountain."

"Aw, it must play with us precious! Come on, come on… play a game with us precious!" The thing began to carry on excitedly.

"Look I really don't have time for it right now, I need to get out of here." I tried to explain.

"But it can't, can it precious?" the thing chuckled. "It needs our help."

"Our? There are more of you?" I asked in alarm.

"Me and precious, precious."

"Ah geez." I shook my head. "Why'd I get stuck with the crack case?"

"Let's play a game, let's play, precious." The thing offered again. "And if it wins, we show it the way out."

"Oh! Alright then!" I beamed in relief.

"And then, if we wins… what then?" the eyes flashed away. "Well if it _looses_ precious, then we eats it!" I stopped breathing for a moment. Then the eyes flashed back to me. "If we wins, we eats it whole." It was said with such a matter of fact tone that, in other circumstances, I might have laughed. Considering the circumstances, I did not laugh. Not in the slightest.

"Oh, Hell no!" I shook my head immediately. "No eating!"

"Just a game. It's only fair, precious." The thing pouted.

"…" I tried to speak but words seemed to fail me. If only I could see! Maybe I'd be able to escape, or at least defend myself. "What kind of game do you have in mind?" I asked hesitantly, feeling around to get a grip on my surroundings.

"Let's have a game of riddles! Yes precious, we like those." The thing said jumping around excitedly in the dark. Oh god not riddles. I suck at riddles.

"Let's not." I replied quickly. "How about a different game? Like checkers or something…"

"What's checkers, precious?" The thing asked before shaking its head. "No. Riddles we shall play precious. Yes yes." I groaned but quieted as the creature began.

"What has roots as nobody sees, is taller than trees, up up up it goes, yet never grows_!_"

"…the mountain?" I guessed after a moment. I wasn't quite sure if that was right but I said it out loud before realizing that I was playing for my life.

"Yessssss!" the thing chuckled slapping its knee. "It's turn. Ask us!"

"I'm not an it you know." I snapped, trying to stall while I wracked my brain for any sort of riddle I could think of.

"What is it then precious?" The thing cocked its head.

"I'm… Sue… " I replied, lost in thought.

"What's a suezes precious?"

"Well, I don't know what a suezes is, but Sue is a name. My name as a matter of fact. And what are you called?" My rambling wasn't buying me enough time. I needed a second to think.

"Called?" The thing hissed, sounding suddenly very dangerous. "What are we called, precious?"

My thoughts flew from my mind as I looked up quickly. "N-no! If you don't want to tell me, that's fine! Perfectly fine! A-okay with me, yep. No problem."

But the thing did not pay me any mind. "_They_ call me Gollum, precious…" the thing started hacking again, in a noise that did indeed sound very much like Gollum.

"Is that you name then?" I asked politely, trying to mask my fear. "Gollum?"

"It did useeeed to be, precious." The thing, Gollum, growled. "No more questions. Ask us another riddle, ask us!"

"ALRIGHT!" I snapped, raising my hands defensively. "Alright, alright… okay then… um… When you don't know what it is, it's something. When you do know what it is, it's nothing."

"A riddle, precious." Gollum answered easily. I cursed under my breath.

"Fine, yes you got it." I rolled my eyes.

I could hear it grin before speaking again. "Voiceless it cries, wingless flutters, toothless bites, mouthless mutters."

"Oh!" I laughed out loud, grinning broadly. "The wind." I sat back cockily as the thing grimaced. Really poor choice of riddle to ask someone who was just walking along the side of a mountain in the midst of pouring rain and roaring winds. My nose was still frozen from it's 'toothless bites'. "Yes, my turn again isn't it." I set my face in thought trying to ignore Gollum's mutterings and prowlings. He would mutter dangerously. Wonder how I would taste, or why not he just eat me whole now instead of waiting to finish.

"What…. Is broken when it is not held?" I spoke quickly. Because of this, it took him a little while to figure out what I said, which was most likely the only reason it took him so long. However, it did cause him to pause, which gave me a glimmer of hope.

A hope that was quickly dimmed. "A promisssse." It said, catching my double meaning and backing up a little, trying to curb the hungry glint in his large pale eyes.

"Alive without breath, as cold as death, never thirsty, ever drinking, all in mail but never clinking." Oh dammit all, not a hard one. Why did it have to be a hard one? I got up to walk, maybe moving would help me think. Living without breathing… plants, trees? Did bugs breathe? Cold as death… plants were cold… cold-blooded animals, rocks. No, rocks didn't breathe.

I kicked a rock in frustration, stubbing my toe as I cursed again.

Never thirsty, ever drinking. Did plants get thirsty?

My foot felt water as I came to a large underground lake, a lone shaft of diluted, pale light drifting into the center.

All in mail, never clinking… bark?

"Tree!" I shouted triumphantly, whirling around to smirk in the creature's ugly little face. "The answer is tree!" But there was no Gollum to be found. I looked around anxiously.

"Wrooonnnnggggg!" it's disembodied voice echoed from all around me, bouncing off rocks, making it impossible to locate him.

"Wrong? W-what's the answer then?" I stammered, mind freezing in fear.

"Fish precious, the answer is fish!" it crooned from the darkness. Fish? How could- "Now we gets to eat the suezes whole!"

"W-wait!" I shouted loudly. The cave stilled, the previous noise made by the creature's movements stopped. I had the floor. "That's not fair! You started first, see? So that gives you the unfair advantage! I get to ask you another riddle. And if you guess it right, then you win. But if you loose… then the game goes on."

All was still, until suddenly, Gollum reappeared mere inches away from me, glaring at me venomously. But what caught my eye was the glint of gold, which he quickly stuffed in his pocket before speaking.

"Very well… ask us one last riddle precious."

I started speaking immediately, this creature knew his riddles, but maybe their were was still a way to outsmart him. "I'm at the beginning of time, and part of past, present, and future. I'm part of history, but not part of here and now. In a moment you'll find me, if you know what I am. What am I?"

I waited for the creature to immediately spit out the answer like always. But this time, he was quite silent. He had shuffled over to his corner and seemed to be muttering most viciously to himself, trying to figure it out. I let the smallest of smiles slip onto my face.

It appeared that my hunch was turning out to be correct. This Gollum might be good at riddling, but from what it would seem, he never learned his letters.

Speaking of which, he also seemed to be getting quite emotional, throwing himself around, banging rocks together and screech again and again "What is it? What is it precious?".

If I wasn't worried that he might go crazy and eat me, I might have found it somewhat hilarious. _If_.

It wasn't until he started full out screaming that I started looking for an escape. His attention was now solely on trying to figure out the riddle that he didn't even notice a small, curious gold ring fall out of his pocket and roll right towards a tunnel entrance. An escape. I might get lost again, but it was better than my changes with this nut job. And slowly, then quickly, I made my way away from the lake and the screeching creature up higher into the tunnels, snatching up the golden trinket as I left.

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**This was really hard to write. I tried to make it different, yet similar enough to the book and the scene in the movie, while not just borrowing the lines and sticking them in M's mouth. I'd love to hear what you thought of it!**


	48. Chapter 48:CrownCrownCrown of GoblinTown

The company was torn. They had searched all day and into the night for the missing members, which now totaled to 5, counting Rina and Sute each as half. There had been no sign of any of them. The warg tracks had disappeared quickly coming into the mountain paths, and the others had left no sign at all. But considering their absence, it could only be assumed that something had happened to them. Which mostly likely meant they had found Miley. One would hope.

All the company had managed on finding that day, however, was a cave to spend the night in. Most of them agreed, they needed rest, but Bofur and Kili stood firm that they could not rest while the others were in such peril or even dying.

Kili, especially, felt a grave sense of dread. Sometime during the night after the other three had disappeared, he awoke to a sudden terrible pain, immediately replaced with an empty feeling. Like something in his heart had suddenly ceased to be. He had a strong guess of what it was, but he forced himself to think otherwise.

"Kee, it's too dark to see anything so late." Fili tried to console him. The dwarf had been very quiet recently, trying to sort out his… her own thoughts. And figure out what exactly had been going on. But her brother seemed to be needing more attention then Fili's current predicament.

"We have to keep looking!" Kili shook his head, shrugging off his sisters comforting hand. "They could be anywhere. And most likely in trouble. Fili they could be suffering! They could be…" dead. He couldn't bring himself to say it. Nimm couldn't be dead. She… she just couldn't. But this hollow feeling gnawing away inside of him said otherwise.

Even from a distance where he couldn't feel her pain, in the past he'd still felt _something_. It was hard to explain exactly how it felt, but it was like, the breath of an animal underneath your hand as you pet them, or the sliver of light that reflects off the river, giving the whole view a surreal, warm feeling.

He hadn't noticed it so much when it was there before, but now that it was gone, it ached.

"Kili, you need rest." Fili shook her head. "You've been deathly pale all day."

"What's wrong?" Thorin's gruff voice sounded, walking over to his sister's children on the other side of the cave. Kili looked away towards the ground, unanswering.

"Kili needs rest." Fili replied for him.

"And you?" Thorin asked his niece. "Your injury,"

"A bit tired, but it's healing nicely." Fili reported. "Nothing to worry about."

Thorin nodded before turning to the other four. "We rest here for the night." Bofur opened his mouth to protest, but Thorin cut him off. "If you still have strength, Bofur, then take first watch." The hatted dwarf closed his mouth again and nodded, heading over to the cave entrance.

"Get some sleep." Fili instructed the younger dwarf. "That way we'll be able to start sooner in the morning."

Kili buried his head in his hands. "Mahal, what do I do?" Fili's eyebrows raised in surprise. It had been a long time since she had last heard her brother ask for Mahal's guidance. _He must truly feel lost_ Fili thought sadly. _What can I do to help him?_ The question seemed to have no answer as she watched her brother with sorrowful eyes.

The stone around them creaked and shifted loudly. The sand floor began to slip away. And suddenly, with a loud clang, the floors dropped away and all seven dwarves went plummeting down a long sloping tunnel that ran almost straight down before they all found themselves dropped in a large, basketlike platform.

Kili groaned as he forced himself to get up, the others doing the same.

"What was that?" Bofur asked in shock, looking up at the entrance from whence they came. The question was left unanswered, however, as a sudden clamor arose from the depths. Everyone readied their weapons quickly as a horde of mutated creatures came shambling towards them. The dwarves growled. Goblins.

They braced themselves, waiting for the surge of claws and limbs that was sure to crash upon them. But to the dwarves' surprise, the shambling masses stopped a few feet away and peered at them. The company shared wary glances, waiting for the goblins to charge. Instead, a weasely looking goblin shambled a few steps closer and spoke.

"We've been expecting you." It sneered in a grin. "Follow us." And the Goblins retreated again down one of the rickety pathways. The company looked to Thorin. And Thorin looked to the company before at last taking a deep breath and following, weapon still at the ready. More Goblins filled behind them as they went, careful to keep a respectable distance away from the small group at all times. Though many shot glares at them, especially Oakenshield and his elvish blade.

Then they heard it.

A horrible racket and clamor, and coming through it all, a horribly out of tune voice belting out words to a crude meter.

_'Down down down in goblin tooowwnn_

_down down down in goblinnnnnnnnnnn tooooooowwwwnnnnnn!'_

The music died out to thunderous applause and cheers as they drew nearer. Then, the music seemed to change. The drums began beating out to a steady, fast paced beat and another, higher pitched, not quite so out of tune but still not great, voice could be heard amongst the ruckus.

_'You change your mind_

_like a girl changes clothes._

_Yeah you, be a mess,_

_Like a bitch, I would know._

_And you over think,_

_Always speak, cryptically._

_I should know_

_That you're no good for meeeee!'_

And the music picked up as the voice grew louder.

_'Cause you're hot _

_Then you're cold,_

_You're yes_

_Then you're no,_

_You're in_

_Then you're out,_

_You're up _

_Then you're dow-'_

The music stopped abruptly as the dwarves made their way onto the center platform in what almost seemed to be an arena.

A large, bloated Goblin sat chubbily upon a throne of bones, smiling in amusement at a figure below him. The cloaked stranger stood with their back to the dwarves, arms falling to their sides as if they had been in the middle of something.

"These are your dwarves then?" The stranger asked, still not turning around. The voice sounded familiar, but very unlike that which had been singing earlier.

"Y-yes." The dwarves looked to see who had answered. Crouching, curled up by the edge was a tall red haired girl, clutching a bundle of cloth to her.

"Lady Miley!" Bofur exclaimed. Dwalin had to stop him from rushing over immediately.

"Very well then." The stranger nodded in a booming voice before addressing the Goblin King. "Escort them to the dungeons, I will interrogate them along. I expect you to deal with the traitors properly."

"Yes your evilness." The Great Goblin bowed lowly. "And perhaps, once you hold dominion over this world, we may continue our karaoke battle as you have decreed it?"

"Perhaps." The stranger nodded. Then, with a swirl of their cloak, they turned and headed down one of the pathways further down into the mountain. "Bring the girl and the infant as well!" the stranger instructed, not looking back. Miley got up shakily, but without complaint and submissively followed the stranger lower into the mountain. The dwarves just stood in bewilderment until the goblins began prodding and shoving them after her. They fought back a little at first, but as Miley grew further away, they ended up following as well, hurrying to catch up. The goblins did not follow.

The dungeon was a dark, dank, foul smelling place with only a few torches to see by. The dwarves eyed the cages warily; planning to make sure they did not end up in them any time soon. The stranger stopped upon reaching the other end of the cave and picked up a crude looking dagger, most likely used for torture.

"Miley, are you alright lass?" Bofur said, hurrying to Miley's side. The girl nodded, but shied away from the dwarf as he drew nearer, holding Sute even tighter.

"Give the girl some space." The stranger commanded, tossing the dagger aside again.

Kili's eyes opened slightly, eyebrows creased in confusion. He knew that voice… But he was sure that… "M?" He guessed aloud. The stranger laughed. A tiny blonde face peered from around the edge of the hood and Rina stepped out, floating effortlessly to one of the crude tables nearby. She was not smiling. She didn't even look remotely happy.

"Fili, lend Miley your coat, will you?" The hooded figure instructed. Fili looked at the back of the hood then at Miley. As did the rest of the dwarves before finally noticing Miley's current state. The girl was bruised and bloody, her clothes badly torn and her body trembling like a leaf.

"What happened lass?" Dwalin asked angrily as Oin hurried over to check her wounds.

"I said give her some space!" the hooded figure snapped. The dwarves froze, before slowly backing away. "Fili, your coat." Hesitantly, she complied removing her coat and gently draping it around Miley's shoulders. As soon as she did, Miley burst into tears, sobbing into Fili's shoulder as she slowly sunk to the ground, bringing Fili down with her. The dwarf did not have the heart to tell the girl that Fili had no idea who she was, though most likely, it didn't matter right now. Everyone stood in silence save for the sound of sobs and eventually, Sute's weak cries.

Rina floated over to stroke Miley's hair comfortingly with a tiny hand. "You were strong, but your safe now, it's okay. It's all over."

But Miley just shook her head. "I don't want to be here! I just want to go home! M, please… I can't-… I want to go home…"

The stranger sighed and shook her head. "I can't do that anymore, remember? I'm Nimm now. M's still somewhere in these accursed tunnels."

"Nimm…" Kili spoke again. "You mean you're… still alive?"

The stranger paused and nodded slowly. "I am…"

"M and Ori are still lost you say?" Balin asked, trying to figure out what was going on.

"M is…" Nimm replied slowly.

"He's dead." Everyone turned to look at Rina.

"What?"

"Ori is dead. He fell during the storm and I… I couldn't save him." Her tiny face was awash with confusion. The dwarves all paused for a moment to take in the news.

"Dead?" Thorin repeated quietly.

"I'm sorry." Nimm said, still not facing them. "We couldn't save his body. M carries his tome with her… wherever she is now."

"What happened to her?" Oin asked in confusion.

"We split up." Nimm shrugged, leaning against the edge of the table. Even though she was now in profile with the others, she kept her face completely hidden by mask and hood. "The goblins found Rina and I. They brought us here to Miley."

"I do not understand." Thorin growled. "These creatures, why do they do your bidding?"

"Ask Rina, she did the acting." Nimm shrugged. "Going on about this and that, apparently, they mistook me for whoever is orchestrating this all. A few quick lies and I had them under my thumb. The orcs who attacked us earlier are now nothing more than a bad memory." Nimm paused. "You hear that Miley? It's just a bad memory now. It's in the past. You're fine."

"What happened to her?" Thorin demanded. At this question, the red head's sobs grew louder again.

"I said to give her some _space_!" Nimm snapped. "Why the hell do you people not seem to understand that?"

"Because I am trying to get answers." Thorin replied gruffly. "And you are not supplying me with them."

"Maybe that's because I don't have any!" Nimm replied hotly.

"Why are the goblins doing what you say?" Thorin demanded again.

"_I don't know_." Nimm hissed. "Rina did the talking, I just acted big, okay? I don't know anything about them!"

"Well well," a voice boomed from behind them. "Isn't that interesting?" The Great Goblin smirked at Nimm. "I suspected something wasn't quite right 'your evilness!"

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**Well, hopefully this chapter clears up... a little bit more.**

**...maybe.**

**Review if you could! I'm not sure how this chapter will be received.**


	49. Chapter 49: Questions and Lies

**All the reviews XD 4 reviews on one chapter! I think that's a record for this story... THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH**

**Now where were we? oh yes...**

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"Well this is just bloody brilliant." I slurred. My mouth tasted like iron and salt as my own crimson blood filled my mouth. I spit out a tooth from where I sat, watching it bounce and roll off the edge.

"Shut yer trap!" The goblin growled at me, giving another blow to my head before he turned his attention back to the scene playing out in front of me. I coughed dryly, twisting my hands behind me as they strained against the thick ropes that bound me.

I guess I was lucky that the goblins weren't really interested in torturing me just yet. They just gave me a good beating before turning their focus back to the seven dwarves that now stood before the Great Goblin for interrogation. The company had formed a ring around Miley and Sute protectively, glaring daggers at the goblins around them. Fortunately, it appeared to be that the orc pack from before had already been dealt with, since they were nowhere to be seen.

Rina stood on Balin's shoulder, trying to look as threatening as possible. It didn't really leave the desired impression.

"Now tell me, dwarves, what are you doing in these parts?" The Goblin King demanded in a booming voice.

The dwarves responded with silence.

"What is your connection with this wench?" He gestured to me.

"Call me that to my face ugly." I glared at him. He just smirked at me. I guess my threat didn't really come off since I was tied up and barely conscious at the moment. Focusing was hard enough. But I was aware of the dwarves, Kili especially, looking over at me in concern.

I nodded my head to clear it before raising my chin lopsidedly to give the large goblin the same smirk he gave me.

It was a shame we had to be enemies. I kinda liked this dude.

"What is your business here?" He turned his attention back to the dwarves. They did not reply. "Well if they won't talk, we'll make them squawk!" The goblins let out a thunderous roar of approval and their king had to shout over them to be heard. "Bring out the Mangler! Bring out the Bone Breaker! Start with the girl." He pointed to Miley.

"Woah woah!" I shouted quickly, my head suddenly clearing. "Hey, there's no need for that! I'll talk, we'll… we'll all talk! Tell you anything you want to know all right now? So lets not do anything rash."

The king's face spread into a wide grin and he turned back to me. "That's more like it." I cursed myself quietly. Why did he have to start with her? If it had been me it would have been fine, I could deal with stuff like that. But right now Miley…

A fist full of my hair was grabbed and I was tossed between the dwarves and the Great Goblin who sat back upon his throne.

"Nimm!" Kili cried in alarm. I glanced back at him and gave him a lopsided smirk before mouthing 'I got this' to him and facing forward again. The movement caused my vision to fade for a moment before the King's voice brought me back into focus.

"-your name, is it?" he asked. "Nimm."

"That's not my name." I replied slowly. "But you're welcome to call me that if you'd like."

"Then what is your name?"

"Gilgamesh." I replied blandly. The goblin narrowed his eyes at me suspiciously.

"You're lying." He replied.

"Well crap you caught me." I laughed hollowly, trying to stop my eyes from falling closed.

"Who are you?" He demanded angrily.

"…I'm a traveler." I replied slowly. "I guess. I mean," I smiled to myself. "Really I'm just a psychology student from Scranton but, ya know…"

"Enough of these games!" He screeched loudly. "Bring me the dwarven archer!" Oh snap. See, this is why I didn't want to fall in love with anyone. The goblins quickly seized Kili and dragged him over, shoving him to the floor next to me. I glanced down at him, struggling to break free. A sigh escaped my lips and I looked back up at the goblin king, my face now very serious.

"What do you want to know?" I asked in annoyance.

He smiled. "Who are you?"

"Mary Sue. I'm a human from another world sent to save this one from total chaos and destruction." While my answer seemed totally absurd, my demeanor was not. And, unfortunately, the Goblin King believed me.

"What is your connection to the Sorceress?" He asked immediately.

"I don't know who that is." I replied evenly.

"Do not lie to me!"

"I'm not!" I shouted back, hiding the pain it induced. "I've never met her, nor heard of her. But if she's after the infant then I'll do everything in my power to thwart her plans."

"What is your connection to these dwarves?"

"I travel with them. Nothing more." He glared at me, but on this I held my ground, refusing to contradict my answer.

"What about this one?" He pointed his staff at Kili who was looking up at me with an unreadable expression. His teeth were gritted still as he tried to break the goblin's hold to no avail. I looked at him for a moment before looking back at our captor.

"A disposed possession." The words came out of my mouth without my authorization. There were a few angry shouts from the dwarves but they were quickly silenced. I knew Kili was staring at me, probably furious or hurt. I did not look down at him to confirm it.

The goblin raised one eyebrow at me in amusement. "Is that so? And you feel nothing for this dwarf, is that how it is?"

"That's right." I answered immediately, keeping my face as blank as possible.

"So you won't mind if we have some fun with him then?"

He was looking for a reaction. Trying to prove my lie. "Do as you like." I shrugged. "I'm not really in any position to be giving out orders now am I?"

The monster barked out a laugh. "Quite right! Bring the devices, we shall see what these dwarves know next!" The goblins cheered again as I was dragged back to the side again as the dwarves began fighting back all the harder. "We'll start with this one." The Great Goblin grinned, peering down at Kili.

"Wait." Everyone froze as Thorin stepped forward.

"Well, well, well, look who it is." The Goblin's eyes widened. "Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror; King Under the Mountain!" He bowed deeply, hands outstretched like a ballerina's. Then he straightened with an innocent look on his face. "Oh, but I'm forgetting, you don't have a mountain. And you're not a king." He frowned. "Which makes you… nobody really." The goblins all cackled in glee as their king straightened again. "I know someone who would pay a pretty price for your head. Just a hint, nothing attached." The dwarves growled angrily. "Perhaps you know of whom I speak? An old enemy of yours. A Pale Orc, astride a white warg."

"Azog the Defiler was destroyed." Thorin responded immediately. "He was slain in battle long ago!" _Well…_ I winced. _Not really_.

"So you think his defiling days are done, do you?" The Goblin King leaned over to a tiny deformed goblin on the side. "Send word to the Pale Orc. Tell him I have found his prize." The tiny thing cackled and disappeared into the depths. I groaned. This was really going swimmingly wasn't it?

'_Bones will be shattered_

_necks will be wrung,_

_you'll be beaten and battered,_

_from racks you'll be hung!_

_You'll lie down here and never be found!_

_Down in the deep of goblin towwwnnnn!_'

"Now that I'm not lying to your face!" I called to him as he finished his song. "I'll let you know, your songs suck." He turned to me with a dangerous glint in his eyes.

"Oh is that so, wench?"

"Yeah." I slurred with a grin, my vision getting hazy again. "A dying goat sounds better." He opened his mouth to reply, but before he could, a blinding flash of white burst through the cavern, knocking everyone to the ground.

"Take up arms." An old voice spoke as a figure stepped out of the mist. "Fight. Fight!"

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**Well, I managed to avoid any outright torture scenes! Yay me :)**

**Again, I'd love to know what you think in the next few chapters a lot of things will start happening so I want to make sure it's all kinda making sense ish. **

**Oh, and is it obvious what happened to Miley, or do I need to spell it out, because explaining it in story doesn't really fit with the flow so...**


	50. Chapter 50: Dead Weight

I was nothing more than dead weight at the moment. It seems Dwalin had bothered to pick me up on their way out after Gandalf had randomly appeared and saved all our hides. There were an awful lot of goblins though. Through my blacked out haze I thought I saw Bofur and Oin helping Miley out. _Good_ I remembered thinking _at least she'll be safe_. I also remembered being confused that they had even bothered to take me with them. Didn't they all hate me for messing everything up? Miley got captured, Fili got hurt, M got lost, Ori died…

I guess Thorin wanted to kill me personally. I suppose that made sense in a way. Of course, that was providing I survived the trip out. I wasn't in considerable pain, but I did know that I had lost a decent bit of blood. And all this moving about wasn't really helping. My hands were starting to feel numb. That was bad, right? Probably bad.

Then the running stopped as something seemed to explode from somewhere nearby. "You thought you could escape me?" The Goblin King. "What are you going to do now, Wizard?" A moment later, he was crying out in pain before mumbling something and falling to the ground.

Then the walkway began to shift and groan before I found myself falling. It was… actually quite scary.

When I hit the ground, I lost consciousness completely.

_You can't die yet Mary Sue. Wake up. You must help Miley. She must arrive at the end. She must act upon the field of ice. Wake up Mary. Get up._

My eyes opened to the sunlight of morning. It felt like I was flying on a feather bed. Which I was, but it took me moment to realize that until I saw the giant eagle wing in my view.

"I told you Azog was still alive." Rina's voice whispered in my ear. "Though Thorin wasn't so happy to see it." I let out a quiet moan of pain as I tried to move. "M made her way back to us. If you were worried." Rina continued to give me the update. "No one else has died except a couple orcs and goblins. Not to worry. Thorin almost got his hide handed to him, but Gandalf intercepted at the last moment and saved him. Lots of fire, wargs, falling trees. You didn't miss much. Hey, don't you fall asleep on me yet! We're about to be landing." I forced my eyes open again and stared up into the dawning sky. It was a pale shade of orange. Everything felt so surreal as I lay there. "M's taking care of Miley too. She's a strong girl. She'll make it through this."

I knew that. I knew she would be fine. Not that Miley would ever recover completely from what those… monsters did to her. But she would move on.

I had after all. Not completely, never completely. But I had. And she could do the same. At least for her they were dead.

I wasn't so lucky. I had to survive on the same boat as him for over a month. That bastard sailor. What I wouldn't give to slit his throat now.

A few tears slipped from my eyes. She had to go through that and it was all my fault. It was _all_ mine. The pain from my wounds. The guilt from what I had done. The memories of the past…

All because of books. Whoever said words can't hurt you… bull crap.

Mountaintops came into my view as the eagle below me lowered and let me slide down to a rocky plateau. I was too exhausted to even be surprised that there were random giant eagles that we were flying on the backs of. That's just the kind of book this was I guess.

Oin was hovering over me instantly. I tried to wave him off but he stubbornly refused to be sent away. He started bandaging me up with emergency supplies he kept in his belt before lying me down and instructing me to rest.

"I'm not tired." I mumbled. Which was of course a lie.

"Kili, get the lass to cooperate." Oin called to the younger dwarf.

"That's not fair." I grumbled to myself quickly closing my eyes and hiding my face under my arm as Kili's footsteps drew closer. Those jerk goblins had taken my cloak and I really didn't feel like I could face Kili just now.

"Nimm?" I ignored him. "Nimm, are you asleep?" Go away, go away, go away… "Oin, she's resting now." The footsteps walked away. I breathed a sigh of relief, risking a glance to look at the back of Kili's head as he worried over Fili.

I tried to reach out to him, to feel what he was feeling but… there was nothing. I started to tremble very slightly. What did this mean? Our connection was gone? How? Did Kili break it some how? Was he that angry with me?

I couldn't blame him. I had messed everything up.

I curled up tighter and tried to forget it all and sleep.

"Nimm, Nimm wake up. Wake up. For a moment I thought I was having the same dream as before. Then I realized that Miley was patting my shoulder very gently, her voice barely more than a whisper.

"What's wrong?" I asked, trying to open my eyes.

"We're moving on now." Came the timid voice. "I was told to come wake you up." And the guilt came crashing back. Great. Just peachy.

"Alright." I sighed. "I'm up, give me a moment." Miley hesitated before quietly leaving my side. I forced myself to sit up, ignoring my body, which ached in protest. My head seemed to bob airily for a moment before it stabilized properly and I could focus.

Everyone else seemed to be milling about or starting over to the edge of the rock we were on. Fili seemed to be leading the way as she started over the edge cautiously. "There are steps over here." She reported. "They're steep but manageable. Everyone watch your step."

"Where's M?" I asked however was listening.

"Right here." She replied from next to me. I jumped in surprise, looking over to find my other self standing where I was quite sure she had not been until now. "How are you feeling? Ready for a climb?" I groaned but tried to get to my feet. Though I almost fell over immediately if M hadn't been there to stabilize me.

"No." I replied honestly. "Alright, let's get this over with."

In the end, we all made it down with nothing more than a few scrapes, which were lost amongst all the other cuts and bruises from the previous day's escapade.

"Azog will not be far behind us." Thorin said as soon as everyone was on the ground. "We press onwards as long as we can." He looked at the group of 13 around him. One a malnourished infant, another no more than 5 inches tall. Three old men(though one was a wizard). Two recovering from the orcs and goblin's capture. One recovering from a head wound and confusion. And one from a gash in the arm. And then himself, who was worse for wear, though he hated to admit it.

Thorin sighed despairingly. This quest seemed doomed to fail. "Gandalf, is there anywhere between here and Mirkwood in which we can seek shelter? We will not last more than three days in our predicament."

"There is a house…" Gandalf started hesitantly. "In which we might seek shelter."

"Who's house?" Thorin asked uneasily, noticing the wizards hesitation. "Are they friend or foe?"

"Neither." Gandalf sighed. "He will either help us or he will kill us."

Thorin looked around at his company around him before turning back to Gandalf. "What choice do we have? Lead on."

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**Early update! Woo! Go me, I'm awesome. lol anyway, reviews are always appreciated :)**


	51. Chapter 51: The Running of the Bear

Somehow, I ended up carrying Sute as we found ourselves running through the wilderness at the wizards command. As soon as I took the infant in my arms in started crying pathetically in weak screams. So of course I started complain almost as loud to whoever would listen. It didn't make it any easier to run anyway. But as Bofur put it "If the orcs do catch up, we need as many people fighting as we can get. And you and Miley are the most injured. Besides, Miley could use a break, wouldn't you agree?"

I did agree. But that didn't mean I wanted to carry the squirming noise monster. It didn't help that she seemed to be growing heavier every second that passed. And she wouldn't stay still as we ran. Flailing about, making a bunch of noise. I say feed it to the wargs and be done with the whole deal.

We were just on the edge of the woods when Miley hurried up to my side and quickly removed the infant from my arms, hugging it close to her as she gave me a glance that said 'you have no experience with infants do you?'.

Then a loud roar sounded from behind us and a huge, monstrous bear crashed from the trees.

"This way quickly!" Gandalf called from the front. He was making his way across the field towards some sort of hedge in the distance.

"We won't make it!" Bofur cried in despair. Miley looked behind us again, looking very scared before hurrying over to Dwalin.

"Hold Sute." She demanded, practically dumping the child in Dwalin's burly arms. Then she stopped running and… turned around.

"Miley what are you doing?" I snapped at her, slowing down in confusion.

"Keep running!" She ordered, standing her ground as the overly large bear came hurtling towards us.

"No way in hell am I going to do that without you!" I growled, turning back to drag her away. But M grabbed my arm and pulled me along. I glared at my other self. "What are you doing?"

"It's a book!" She replied, running.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

_I held my breath as the bear continued to come charging for me. I could do this. I had to. "Beorn!" I called out, bracing myself to be run over. "Please, Beorn, come to your senses! We are not your enemies!" The bear did not waver in his course._

_Trembling, I fell to my knees and bowing my head, continued to plead. "Please, please, we are injured and weak. You must help us. Please… please…" I closed my eyes and waited to feel sharp teeth rip me apart. Or to merely be trampled to death. And I waited._

_It was the warm, slightly wet smelling air on my face that forced me to open my eyes. In front of my eyes was a large black nose, nostrils flaring in and out as it sniffed me hesitantly. I looked up into the bear's large eyes, which in turn looked back at me curiously. _

_As I watched, the eyes began to shrink, the brown fur around them turning into flesh and skin. The bear morphed into a tall, muscular man. I quickly looked away, shielding my eyes from the view, as I suddenly felt very vulnerable. What had I just done? I could have been eaten! Even now…_

_"Does my appearance make you uncomfortable little one?" Beorn's deep voice asked._

_"N-not your appearance so much as…" I coughed quietly, gesturing to his person while continuing to look away._

_"Bring your friends inside foretold child." He said walking past me out of my vision. "We may talk in there." I paused in surprise. Foretold child? Was that like what Lady Galadriel had said? The Child of the Prophecy… After a moment I got up and turned to find the others staring at me and the door in surprise. The door that Beorn had most likely just passed through._

_"What the hell was that?" Nimm balked. The others voiced similar comments. _

_Gandalf merely gave me a knowing look before moving to intercede. "What a stroke of luck!" He said ushering the others towards the door. "I suggest we do not waste his good favor."_

It was cozy in the bear man's house. Or it would be if everything weren't so freakin' large. I looked around in awe at the furniture, the walls, the ceiling, the carving around the pillar in the center, the stables… everything. And covered in animals.

"How many pets does this guy have?"

"They are not pets, but friends." I jumped turning around to see our host (now properly clothed) standing behind me.

"Ah right…" I said immediately, hoping that I hadn't offended him or anything. I had to admit I was a little intimidated by the bear man. Maybe because he had almost ripped us all to shreds only moments ago. Maybe seeking shelter here was not the best of ideas. But Miley seemed to be looking a little better already. Currently she was scratching a goat's head absentmindedly, looking around as I had done while the goat nibbled on the end of Fili's coat, which Miley was still wearing.

She turned to see Beorn walk up to her. "I would ask you and whoever is responsible for this lot to talk with me."

"Yes." She nodded, looking to Gandalf and Thorin who were already making their way over.

I stood back a little sulking. "So what? I'm not special enough for their little 'important people' meeting?"

"Gee I wonder why." Someone joked from next to me. I froze, glancing at him out of the corner of my eye. Kili. I turned away quickly, meandering away as inconspicuously as possible. "Nimm…" his voice called from behind me. I stopped and sighed. "We need to talk. Come on, let's go outside." I didn't want to. I really didn't. But I guess I didn't really have much of an option. So I followed Kili outside the large door to stand underneath the overhang. I stood a distance away, looking out at the wild garden of the bear man from beneath the shade.

The drone of bees hummed in the distance at giant versions of the bug moved around from flower to flower. Neither of us talked for the longest time.

"I'm sorry." The words blurted out of my mouth. This seemed to catch Kili by surprise and he made a noise of confusion. I did not pay attention to it, however. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! You have every right to be angry with me. I was trying not to make a big deal out of it! I mean first I say I'm your One. Then I lie to you about who I am and where I'm from. Then in Rivendell I have the nerve to tell you to bug off! And then even after _all that_ you're still showing me kindness. And because of that, Fili got injured! And Miley was captured and Ori…" I swallowed, biting the inside of my cheek in an effort not to cry. I wasn't going to cry. "And so I have no reason to feel hurt or surprised that you broke off the connection." I shook my head. "I'm just a despicable person anyway."

"I… am not angry with you." I looked over at Kili in surprise.

"What?"

"Of course I'm not angry with you. Why would I be?" A confused smile crossed over his face. "I was the one on guard at that time. I was the one who should have spotted the orcs coming. Don't tell me… that's why you've been avoiding me?"

"...I expected you to be furious!" I exclaimed. "The connection between us-"

"I thought you were dead!" My mouth clamped shut as I looked at Kili. I mean really _looked_ at him. He was covered in blood and dirt from the past few days, with more than a few scratches. But other than that, he looked… awful. His skin was pale and he had huge bags under his eyes. His face was awash with concern and hurt. "You left without a word, and the next thing I knew, I couldn't feel _anything_. I thought… I really thought you had died."

'How are you expecting to save Miley when you keep dying all the time?'

I looked down at the ground. Had I died? What was this voice in the back of my head? It sounded familiar yet… how come I couldn't remember it?

"And though I'll admit…" Kili continued with a sigh. "It hurt hearing you tell that goblin scum that I was nothing more than a 'disposed possession'," I blushed in embarrassment, casting my eyes to the ground. "But you were just trying to protect me, right?" I nodded wordlessly. Kili let out a loud sigh of relief, quickly lowering to a crouch, head between his hands.

"Hey… are you okay?" I asked hesitantly, trying to see the look on his face.

"Thank Mahal." He mumbled into his hands. "Ever since you left, there's been a hole somewhere." Kili said, placing a hand on his chest. "An absence of something so small yet so right…" He extended a hand towards me, palm up. I stared at it a moment, then slowly slid my hand into his.

Once again, I felt something like a spark of electricity run through me, making all my nerves go rigid before collapsing into a state of jelly. My legs collapsed to the ground as Kili immediately pulled me into his embrace.

I must have been grinning like an idiot as I buried my face in his neck. He was warm.

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**DAWWwwwwwwwwwww... Their kinda cut when they aren't trying to bite each other's heads off :)**


	52. Chapter 52: Clean

**Apologies in advance for the sappy drama that is the majority of this chapter.**

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_Sute gurgled happily as she clung to the large chair leg. I watched her carefully, hands spread out to catch her should she fall. The child, who had been but a small infant when I had first found her, had grown again quite suddenly. Perhaps, Beorn's house had a similar magic to that of Rivendell? At any rate, little Sute was much bigger now and had started to develop a tiny mop of brown hair on top of her head. _

_Presently, her tiny hands were clutching onto the leg of one of Beorn's chairs as she tried desperately to pull herself up. She wobbled in such a ridiculous manner that I could help but laugh. Finally, Sute managed to bring her legs straight. She looked around at everything with wide eyes and a look of wonder on her face. The child gurgled happily as her eyes found my face._

_Sute really was such a happy child. Wholly unaffected by everything we had gone through so far on this journey. This is what I needed. A break to relax and replace my bad memories with new ones. Happier memories._

_"You look… better." I looked up to see Nimm standing behind me. She was watching Sute with suspicion. _

_"This place is peaceful." I nodded, a gentle smile coming to my face. "And safe."_

_"Still after what happened…" Nimm stopped, realizing the bad memories she might be bringing up. "You're handling it rather well." I didn't reply, instead pulling Sute into my lap and letting the little bundle of curious energy clear away the darkness._

_"Yeah." I said at last. Neither of us knew how to respond._

_"Lady Miley," I looked up at Gandalf's voice. He was standing over with Thorin and Beorn, the three looked to have been conversing. I stood, shifting Sute over to one hip and made my way over to the three._

_"Yes?" I asked upon arriving._

_"We are discussing how to proceed with the quest." Thorin began his gruff voice a little more cautious than usual. "I estimate we can spend no more than three days here if we want to make it to the mountain before Durin's day."_

_"Three days…" I repeated, internalizing the fact._

_"The matter that needs considering," Gandalf began "Is whether or not you will be continuing with us." In all honesty, I panicked for a moment. Thankfully, Beorn spoke up to clear any confusion._

_"They are worried it will be too much for you." Beorn said to me. "You are more than welcome to stay here until you feel you have recovered."_

_"Miley's staying here?" All four of us turned to see Nimm looking back in shock. She looked to me specifically. "You're… staying?"_

_She seemed so helpless and at the same time relieved. It was an unreadable expression. "…No." I replied after a long moment. "Three days is plenty enough time." I set my face in determination, turning back to Thorin. "I do not need any extra coddling Thorin, don't worry about me." I took a deep breath and forced myself to smile. "I'm tougher than I look." There was a hint of admiration in his eyes as Thorin nodded._

_"Very well then." He turned to address the others. "Rest up! We will leave two mornings from this day."_

I slammed my fist into the wall. I wouldn't be surprised if the dwarves inside had heard it. I didn't really care. I had thought maybe Beorn's shed would be a good place to take out my frustration. There was very little in there and I would end up squishing a giant bee by accident or anything. Dammit.

"DAMMIT!" I yelled aloud, kicking over an old wooden crate. This then proceeded to injure my foot, which led to another string of curses.

"Nimm?" Someone called. "What's wrong? Are you alright?" I sunk to the ground, back against the wall and watched as Kili walked in, his face a mask of concern. He immediately hurried over to me and crouched by my side. "Nimm?"

A lump had already formed uncomfortably in my throat. "It's nothing." I shook my head.

"You've been banging around in here for a good while now." He gave me a look. "Everyone can hear it. Besides, I can tell you aren't feeling right."

"Yeah, but it's nothing. I'm just throwing myself a pity party. So leave me to my lonely suffering already so I can get over it." Kili sat down next to me a waited for me to talk. It was annoying, but eventually, I caved in.

"I don't know if Miley is just a saint or there's something wrong with me." I blurted out at last.

"That's what your worried about?" Kili raised an eyebrow. "Because the obvious answer is both." He smirked at his own jest but I glared at him.

"I'm being serious Kili." His smile dropped away and he gave me an apologetic glance before looking at the ground. I stared at the roof, trying to figure out exactly how to express myself.

"When I was younger," I began. "Or really anytime I listened to a story," I couldn't exactly say TV, cause he wouldn't know what that was. "I would always end up rooting for the bad guys." I pursed my lips before continuing. "Because I identified with them…" I scuffed my boot in the dirt, moving it back and forth slowly making a pile of dirt on both sides. "I've always thought that evil is taught not born. In all the stories, the villains had suffered through so much. Like I had." I stamped the dirt piles flat again. "I've always considered myself more of the villain type and all that. Because of the 'suffering' I had gone through, you know?" I paused for Kili to respond, though he didn't so I continued. "I had always thought, it's not my fault I do bad things. It's because of what happened to me. I didn't ask to be this way." I rubbed one eye hard, leaving it stinging. "But then here comes Miley. She had the same thing happen to her, probably even worse, and she… she's practically over it already!"

"She pretends to be strong." Kili said consolingly.

"It happened eight years ago!" I snapped. "I have spent… eight years of my life… reliving what happened. I felt so _dirty_. And… I couldn't even talk to anyone about it. Because it was when I was in a boo… another world, everyone thought I had just made up the whole thing! I had to deal with it all on my own. My mom was dead, my dad thought I was crazy… god I probably was! No wonder all my friends ditched me." I was probably hitting things again by this point. It was hard to tell through all the water coming out of my eyes and the sobs that broke up my words. "And I had to pretend… that I was fine. I had to act like e…everything was okay just so… I wouldn't be left alone by everyone! Hell, you'll probably leave me too! Who'd want a bitch that breaks down into insanity just because her friend is getting _better_? God, I am so twisted and sick!"

"Stop it! Just…" I fell silent and Kili pulled me into his arms. "…stop." He held my shoulders tight as they continued to shake uncontrollably. "Please…"

I started sobbing again. But it was more sad this time, and less angry. I had stopped hitting things anyway. "I just don't want to be the bad guy anymore. But… I'm not strong like Miley is. Eight years… and I still can't get over it. I've felt so dirty for so long. Kili…" I blinked away my tears and looked up into his eyes. I was a wreck. So much for staying strong. Putting on a brave face. It was too late for that anymore. It was just a mask after all. Another form of hiding. Running… That's all I seemed to know how to do. Ever since that day…

"I just need to feel clean again."

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**Next chapter should be posted in a few days :)**


	53. Chapter 53: Mistakes are Made

**This chapter deals with the consequences of some... questionable activity. I don't go into the details, but I just wanted to forewarn people that I do not always (often don't) share the opinions of my characters. That's why they are characters and not just fictional versions of me. **

**Enjoy :)**

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_It was going to take awhile to get used to wearing Beorn's old clothes. They were on the itchy side, and much to large. But at least it allowed me to return Fili's coat. She had seemed wary of me recently, and Bofur had explained to me what had happened with the head injury and such. It would seem that somehow, the wound had knocked Fili back to her… his memories according to the book. Though these extra characters she had mentioned had me worried. I had no memory of them at all. _

_This meant that not all was lost. Everything could be fixed theoretically. If only we could figure out how it was messed up in the first place. There was obviously something more at work than just M and my arrival. _

_M… I looked around mildly, immediately noticing Sute who was bouncing happily on Bofur's lap. She was looking much healthier after getting some proper nourishment in her. She was able to eat solid foods now if it was mushed enough. And she had started chewing on everything she could find, so I guessed her teeth would be coming in somewhat soon._

_But I could not find M anywhere. When I thought about it, I had seen her very little since we reunited outside the goblin tunnels. I would see her standing around every now and then, but she said little. And sometimes, like now, she would be just nowhere at all. Like she were simply invisible._

_Invisible._

_That had been in the book! I know it had! I couldn't remember where exactly, but it had been. I teased my brain for anything I could remember, and then it came to me. Gollum. And the One Ring. _

_How could I have forgotten that? The ring was found in this book, wasn't it? If M had found it then… I needed to find M, and fast._

_"Nimm and Kili have been out for awhile." I jumped in alarm and turned to see M siting right next to me, an innocent expression on her face._

_"They have." Fili frowned from where she was reclining a few feet away. M was now shooting me a questioning glance about why I had jumped so much. Fili had stood and headed out, probably to go check on the other two. It was getting dark anyway._

_This was the perfect chance. "M, you've found it, haven't you?" I whispered to her calmly._

_"Found what?" she frowned in response._

_"…A ring. A small curious gold ring." M tensed immediately at my words. Her hand reflexively went to her pocket. It was already starting to take hold of her mind._

_"How long have you known?" She asked immediately, an edge to her voice._

_"I just figured it out a moment ago, but M, you need to be careful. That ring is dangerous. It'll poison your mind and corrupt you. The longer you stay with it… and use it, the more you'll loose yourself." _

_"How do you know?" M snapped back._

_"Because I read the book." I replied carefully. I didn't want her turning all Gollum on me like Bilbo had in the Lord of the Rings movie. Bilbo… who?_

_"So what? You probably just want it for yourself, don't you?" M hissed dangerously. Not a bad idea. It would be very useful. And safe. I could hide until it was all over. Or fight without worry…_

_"No…" I shook my head quickly. "I don't want it. None of us here should have it. That thing is useful but dangerous. It should not be used lightly." M seemed suspicious for a moment before her face came to rest more peacefully._

_"…Yes. You're probably right. It is a lot of fun turning invisible though." She shrugged, looking apologetic and cocky at the same time._

_"Well, in this story," I paused trying again to remember the details. "It's not much of a problem. I don't think. Still sleeping for the most part. You're not a hobbit, but it should be fine as long as you don't use it lightly. And try to keep yourself very down to earth and practical. That's what makes hobbits so resilient to it. There's very little in their hearts to corrupt. Just keep-"_

_"THORIN!"_

_Everyone in the room fell silent as the door banged open. I blinked in confusion as Fili stormed in, dragging two people in rather roughly. Kili, wearing hastily put on pants, had one ear firmly in Fili's hand. Nimm, wearing only a shirt, and Kili's at that, was being dragged along by her elbow. Both were flushing like crazy._

_It wasn't hard to figure out what was going on._

_"What is the meaning of this!?" If I ever thought Gandalf was scary when he got angry, it was nothing in comparison to how Thorin looked now. "Explain yourselves! Now!" He glared first at Kili, who could only look away in shame. Then after glaring daggers a his nephew for a good long moment, his fury turned to Nimm. _

_"You! You wench! Succubus! You would seduce my nephew for power?" He looked ready to strangle her, but Balin and Dwalin were already at his side, wary should he try to make any hasty moves. Though both looked nearly as furious as he did. "Shall no words come out of your twisted mouth! Begone witch!" No one moved. "I said BEGONE!"_

_ Nimm barely flinched. Silently, she gritted her teeth and held her head up proudly, glaring defiantly at Thorin. Her eyes, challenging him to do something. And he did. When he started towards her, I was almost certain he was going to kill her. Enough so that I sprang up from my seat, though I was too far to have any hope of getting there in time. _

_But he didn't kill her. Instead, He grabbed her roughly and dragged her back to the front door before yanking it open and shoving her out of Beorn's home. She fell to the ground outside._

_"Leave! If I ever see you again, I'll kill you myself!"_

_"Thorin-" Kili was cut off by his sisters deadly glare. _

_Nimm slowly picked herself off the ground, her outline blending into the fast approaching night that she had been abandoned to. She looked Thorin straight in the eye and spoke evenly. "Looking forward to it then." Then she gave him the finger and stumbled off before Thorin slammed the door closed and she was out of sight._

_"…What just happened?" I whispered quietly._

_"I… I'm not exactly sure." M replied from my side. We both watched as Thorin grabbed a fist full of Kili's hair as he passed and used it to pull the younger dwarf away from the others, probably to give him a 'proper' scolding. Fili and Balin followed wordlessly. _

_Everyone's eyes lingered on where they had disappeared for a moment before one by one returning to what they had been doing before. I looked around in bewilderment. How could they be so calm? Nimm had just been banished!_

_…Nimm had just been banished. What was I supposed to do? Should I go with her? Convince Thorin to forgive her? That wasn't going to happen._

_"We need to stay with the company." M said to me, as if she knew my question before I even asked it. "We need to get to the end of the story no matter what. Nimm's tough. She can take care of herself." I nodded numbly, before walking over and siting beside Bofur, who still had Sute in his lap._

_Could she take care of herself? Because after Beorn's house, is one of the worst events in the book… Mirkwood forest._

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**hm... hmmmmmmmm...**


	54. Chapter 54: When I'm at my Best

I was still a little confused by the time I had walked out of Beorn's gates. I had retrieved my clothes, torn and dirty as they were. And I had my bow and arrows and a knife. And that was it. I was on my own.

I guess I should have expected it. Earlier times and all that. Still… a little bit of an overreaction, if I do say so myself. I guess Thorin and Fili didn't really like me very much to begin with.

It didn't matter. M could look after Miley and all. I stepped into the quickly approaching darkness. Now what? Where was I supposed to go? I sighed and shook my head. Fine mess I'd gotten myself into. Fine mess.

Though I couldn't even have the decency to feel ashamed. I knew I probably should be. Since I had been caught do something so scandalous and all. But whenever I thought about it, I just couldn't help but smile.

The whole One's thing was really nothing more than a sappy romance novel, but it was still amazing sometimes.

"Dark one." I looked behind me to see Beorn walking quickly, his eyes were wide and he was looking around nervously. He was leading a pony by the reigns. "I have little time before I change my skin for the night. You must be gone before then. Ride east to the forest. That is the path the others will take. You must set the pony loose before you enter, otherwise, I will know."

"Thank you." I replied, honestly surprised by the bear man's generosity. Maybe he wasn't such a bad guy after all.

"No time, make haste!" I swung atop the rearing pony quickly enough and gave the beast a sharp kick, spurring it into a wild gallop. I only took a moment to look behind me. Beorn was already gone. Probably giving as much distance between the two of us as he could before he turned into a bear and tried to eat me or something.

And I laughed. I turned my face to the biting wind and laughed. I had no direction, no plan, and no fall back. It was times like this when I really felt alive.

But that feeling of youth and carefree excitement soon disappeared as the night drew on. In the distance, treetops blocked out the stars along the horizon. The forest.

I camped the night outside its border. Though little could be seen in the fading night, I got a very bad feeling about it. This was not going to be fun.

The next morning, after a restless night, I turned the pony loose. Only after retrieving the small pack in its saddlebags with food and water. At least I wouldn't die immediately. That was good. But there wasn't much. I would have to begin hunting as soon as I entered the forest.

I could hear the pony's hoof falls as it galloped away into the rising day. And I turned the other way.

Upon first glance, there seemed no easy way to enter this tangled mess of trees and decaying vegetation. And I was walking along the forest's edge for a good while before I finally found a way in. A path. It was barely noticeable and mostly grown over, but I could probably find my way through. As long as I kept heading along a straight route from tree to tree like they taught you in survival camp or whatever those types of things are called.

I took one last breath of the chilly morning air, and started into the woods.

_The dwarves were still in gloomy repressed silence the next day. I chose not to fight it, and instead took Sute for a walk around the gardens with Rina. All the flowers and vegetables were lovely, and I was happy to see how many of the same plants I could find from back home._

_Sute enjoyed the bees. She would gurgle happily as they buzzed around her. Rina even rode one for a little while. The tiny spirit was finally starting to smile again after Ori's departure from this world._

_The news, I admit, had come as a shock to me. I was certain Ori didn't die in the books. However, lately I trusted my own memory of event less and less. Especially after talking more with Fili about her memories of the recent past._

_But I shouldn't be worrying about all that right now. I was supposed to be focusing on recovering so that it would be easier when we started traveling again the next day. _

_But the truth was; getting my mind on the future helped me to forget the past. And that was exactly what I needed. So I spent the day showing Sute the different plants and animals, laughing at her reactions and faces. And all the while thinking, planning. What was happening, how we would respond, the mysterious sender of dreams, and whoever was causing all of this. The Sorceress in the eye of the storm. _

_I looked back to the house thoughtfully as I considered all this. It was Kili who caught my eye. He was sitting heavily on a stump, head buried in his hands. I headed over directly._

_"Hey," I said quietly. Kili looked up in shock before realizing it was me. "How are you holding up?" Obviously not well, but sometimes it was helpful just to say it aloud._

_"I should have stopped them." Kili shook his head. "Thorin, I should have made him see reason. I should have gone with her! Mahal, I only just got her back and now I've lost her again!"_

_"You haven't seen the last of Nimm." I smirked. No doubt she already had a plan. "She'll be fine."_

_"You can't know that!" Kili shouted. "…Sorry, sorry I-"_

_"It's alright." I assured him quickly. "You're worried. It's understandable, but you don't need to be. I have faith in her. She won't let herself die till she's given Thorin a good piece of her mind about the whole thing."_

_"That's just it." Kili shook his head. "If we ever do find her again, Thorin will kill her! If I see her again, she'll die. Either way, I've lost her." His face dropped again as his foot twitched in agitation. "I should have known better! I shouldn't have let myself get carried away like that! If I-"_

_"Hold on one moment," I stopped him. "You aren't blaming yourself for this are you?"_

_"…Yes?" Kili replied hesitantly._

_"Well of course it was your fault, but it was just as much Nimm's fault, if not more so, knowing her. She should have known better! You should have as well, but my point is neither you or her should be blaming yourselves for what happened. And I'm almost certain she isn't, so you shouldn't either! The two of you will find a way around this, so chin up. Confidence is your greatest ally when it'll come down to dealing with your uncle. And your sister." I frowned watch a stormy faced blonde dwarf come over to us._

_"Kili, Thorin wants you." Fili was emotionless as she said this and afterwards immediately stormed away back inside._

_"She'll come around." I tried my best to sound convincing. "She really does love you, you know. Best sister one could ask for. You just need to give her some time to forgive and forget."_

_"I doubt she'll ever forget." Kili mumbled. "I doubt any of them ever will."_

_"They will." I said firmly. "It may seem like a big deal now. But soon it will be just water under the bridge. So remember, chin up. She was your One, right? That's practically engaged already."_

_Kili sighed. "I don't think you quite understand the seriousness of the situation."_

_"Probably not." I admitted with a frown. "But we're on a quest to slay a dragon and reclaim a kingdom. We have more important things to be worrying about at the moment. And the sooner everyone can realize that and get over it, the better."_

_Kili nodded and, taking a deep breath, stood before striding off towards the house, making a noticeable effort to keep his back straight and his chin up._

* * *

**Mirkwood's coming up. Whoo! Fun...**

**Review if you have a moment. I didn't get much feedback last chapter, and I'm hoping people aren't mad or anything about what happened. :(**


	55. Chapter 55: Enters the Mind, Lead Astray

Day ? of my mental Mirkwood diary

How long has it been? Months probably. At least weeks. I bet more like years. They've all forgotten what I look like. I wonder if they even remember my name. Kili's probably forgotten all about me at least.

Day ?+1 of my mental Mirkwood diary

I'm just so hungry. All the time. The food is already gone. I've tried to eat the animals in the forest. They were bitter and skinny. Just black fur stretched over bones. The berries here are probably poisonous. I ate them anyway.

Day ?+2

I can't even tell if it's day or night. I just want to lie down and sleep. I'm so tired. There are eyes watching me. I see them out of the corner of my own eye, when they think I'm not looking. I doubt their wolves or anything normal.

Day ?+3

There's a stream. It's disgusting. But my water is all gone, and I'm so thirsty. Just one small sip and-

My eyes opened to the darkness I had closed them too. I knew that up above beyond my sight were the treetops, but it didn't matter. I felt cold and soaked, and drowsy.

"You're awake!" A child's voice. In this place? I must have finally snapped. "I thought you might have drunk too much. Why would anyone drink from the enchanted stream on purpose?" I dragged myself wearily from the depths of unconsciousness and became aware of my surroundings. There was someone crouching next to me. I blinked a couple times, trying to get used to the darkness once again and turned to look at whoever it may be. It was an elf. A small one. Not small, young. A boy, though it was hard to tell. All elves looked the same.

"You were washed down stream by the water. I don't know how long you were asleep for, it could have been weeks." He told me.

"Feels more like years." I mumbled under my breath.

"So… what is a female dwarf doing, wandering alone on elf lands?" There was an edge to his voice that I did not like. Elves were scary people. The kid looked no more than twelve my guess, but he did not act like one.

I sat up, groaning as I did so. Lack of food and water were still taking their toll on me. "I was… traveling." I told the boy as I tried to get movement back into my limbs. "Visiting family. But I seem to have gotten lost. Horrible sense of direction and all." I gave him a halfhearted smile. "I don't suppose you could point me out of this place?"

"I can't do that." The boy frowned. Ah man, I'm not going to have to fight a kid, am I? Though really, he wasn't that much shorter than me.

"Why not?" I asked, faking politeness.

"Because I'm lost as well."

I stared at the elven boy. He stared back. The eyes in the dark stared at the two of us.

"Hm."

"Yes."

"Well that makes things more difficult."

"Yes."

"…Do you have any sort of provisions? Is there anyone looking for you?"

"No, and I am unsure."

"Have you been lost for very long?"

"It's hard to tell in this place." The boy replied with a shrug. "As you can see the forest messes with one's mind."

"Yeah, so I've noticed." I brushed myself off slightly as I stood, casting a small fraction of the forest debris back to the ground. Most of it still clung to me. The boy stood as well, looking around warily. "You wouldn't happen to be some sort of royalty or important official's child, would you?"

"No?" the boy replied hesitantly. Then his eyes widened as they landed on my hair. "You've been exiled…"

I looked at him for a moment before remembering what the dwarves had said before about short hair and stuff like that. "Yeah I guess I have been, haven't I?" I sighed to myself before give, what I hoped to be, a comforting smile. "Don't worry, it was no big deal. A small misunderstanding." The boy seemed uneasy still, but nodded.

"The name's Nimm," I extended my hand towards him. "Thanks for saving me from drowning."

"Amar." He replied, looking down at my hand in confusion.

"What? Don't elves shake hands in greeting?" He just looked at me hesitantly. I put my hand down. "Guess not."

_"I don't like this." M frowned as she stood next to me, examining the stretch of trees we were about to enter._

_"Neither does Sute." I replied as the small child began squirming in the pack on my back again._

_"This is not the Greenwood of old!" Gandalf told us as he began riding away. "The very air of the forest is heavy with illusion. It will seek to enter your mind and lead you astray!"_

_"Oh, well that's just great." M grumbled._

_"Scared of a few trees?" I joked. But when every dwarf gave me a disapproving look, it occurred to me that maybe they actually were scared of the trees._

_"These are elven woods, lassie." Dwalin growled from beside me. "There's no telling what evil magic may await us in there."_

_"Right." I frowned. Mirkwood was going to be grueling. From what I had read in the story before, it was quite the ordeal._

_It was far worse than I had possibly imagined. _

_The book told of how scare food and water was. How dark it was under the trees. How gnarled and enclosed it was._

_It hadn't said how the very air you breathed felt like you were breathing in cobwebs and pea soup. I wasn't claustrophobic. But under the twisting, crushing trees, I felt like I was going to scream. But that wouldn't help anything. It would make things worse. It would bring the spiders._

_In the books, the company had not known that giant spiders lurked in the forest with them. But I did. And because of this, every branch became a spider leg, every movement were pincers in the dark. _

_"Air, I need air."_

_"My head, it's spinning."_

_"My ears, they're hurting from all your complaining." M snapped back at Bofur and Oin. _

_"Is anyone else seeing that?" Fili asked from in front of me._

_"See what?" I looked around for what she was looking at._

_"Never mind. It's nothing." The dwarf shook her head and continued on, keeping her eyes on her boots as she walked._

_I didn't know what she had seen, but the others seemed to be having similar experiences. It was all just so… tiring. How long had we been walking. It had been a long time. So long. I hope Thorin knows where he's going._

Kili peered into the trees. Were they really that foggy? Or was this just the effects of air? It was so thick… suffocating. But there was something out there. He knew it. It was… calling to him. Beckoning him somehow. And under the trees influence, what could he do but follow?

He was in a clearing. The twisted trees stood around him, a cold chill creeping through. There was something… someone behind the trees, watching him.

"Who's there?" Kili called out. His voice echoed strangely. To his surprise, someone answered.

"Kili?" The voice pierced the thick air. It was familiar but… odd.

"Show yourself!" The dwarf demanded, the hairs on the back of his neck rising. Slowly, a figure moved from the shadows of the trees into the strange half-light that illuminated the clearing. Kili's heart jumped. "Nimm?"

It looked like her, but almost ethereal. She moved gracefully out of the shadows. Proud, beautiful, but there was a cruel glint in her eye that made Kili wary.

When she spoke, it was slow, almost lazy. "Kili? You've found me. Thank god, this forest almost drove me mad." Though her words made sense, there was no urgency in her voice, no relief. An almost mocking smile came to her lips as she drew closer. "It was so horrid… alone. You left me alone Kili."

"You're not her." Kili shook his head. "You're just a trick of my mind."

"Oh?" This… thing blinked at him innocently. "I am not real then? A phantom?" she ran a hand down his arm slowly. He stilled at her touch and the smile returned. "Then why can I _touch_ you?" Her tongue formed around the words slowly like syrup. It sent chills down his spine.

"You aren't her." Kili shook his head. "I don't know what you are, but you aren't Nimm."

"I can be. I _am_ her." She stepped closer, her hands moving to rest upon his chest. "Isn't that what you want? Someone beautiful? Graceful…" her eyes turned up to look into his. "Perfect?"

"No!" Kili shook his head quickly.

"You can be honest." She told him. "No one will hear you but us. I won't be hurt by the truth, promise."

Kili gritted his teeth and stepped back. "You are not the one I love."

"No I'm not." Nimm frowned playfully. "But Miley's pretty close to perfect anyway."

"What?" Kili shook his head. "No, I don't… I love Nimm. And only her."

It was as if those words had released a trigger. The slow, lazy demeanor of this 'not Nimm' disappeared instantly, replaced by one of intense… glee. Kili stepped back again, staring in confusion at the evil grin on the phantom's face.

"I knew you'd come around." She said cockily. "But choose carefully, Kili darling. Perhaps you want to know exactly what I'm capable of." She stepped close again, standing inches away from him.

"What your capable of?" Kili repeated in confusion.

"I can do anything." She smiled. "Everything." Kili raised an eyebrow. Nimm shrugged before wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him close. "You don't want me as you enemy Kili." There was an edge to her words. A barely veiled threat. "I'm not someone you want to be on the wrong side of. If you cherish me… hold me close… It will be highly to your advantage." She moved his hands to hold her around the waist. "I know you want me… but you can't just treat me like yesterday's scraps Kili." He didn't remove his hands, but it felt wrong. There was no love when they touched.

"So tell me… do you want to try playing with magic?"

Kili swallowed dryly, itching to get away. "Magic?"

"I believe in knowing what you're signing up for." She shrugged again. "So tell me Kili… do you want this? Prepared to whether the storm? Because once you're mine… there's no going back."

"You're not her."

"I _am _her." Nimm's eyes grew hard. "You say you'll love her unconditionally? Time to prove it." He couldn't shove her away fast enough; stumbling back against a gnarled tree he looked at the phantom he had pushed away. She fell to the ground. Hair grew long and grey. Skin wrinkled. Clothes draped over skeleton thin limbs and nails grew old and cracked.

"Wha… What is this?" Kili stammered in horror.

"Dammit." An old voice cracked. "Have it your way then." The thing disappeared instantly, replaced with the frantic calling of the company.

Kili gave another wary look to the place the phantom had been before calling out to the others. "I'm over here!" The others arrived in the now dark clearing soon enough, all look around in confusion and asking if Kili was 'all right' and 'What had he been thinking splitting from the company like that?'. Kili could only nod and mumble vague responses. The hairs along the back of his neck were still standing straight.

But his fear was quickly replaced by a new one as the dwarves looked around in realization. They had lost the path.

* * *

**Yayyyy Mirkwood :|**


	56. Chapter 56: Spiders and Familiar Faces

Kili woke as his cocooned body dropped safely to the forest floor. Limbs and head were still numb from the spider poison as he forced himself to tear through the webbing. His eyes looked around, bleary and unfocused. In the dark, it was almost impossible to make out anything for certain. But he could see shapes moving around him. And they sounded and smelt of dwarves.

A hand grabbed his arm, helping him out of the webs the rest of the way. Miley looked around at the others as she released Kili. Sute was strapped to her back and she carried one of Fili's swords in one hand. She looked more alert then ever as she counted to make sure all dwarves were present.

"There all here." She called over her shoulder.

"Good." M grunted, appearing from seemingly nowhere, covered in scrapes and bruises with a heavy stick slung over one shoulder. "Alright people, let's move!" M started through, nodding to Thorin respectfully as she passed. "The spiders will be back soon enough."

"Fili," Miley handed the blonde dwarf her other twin sword. "You had dropped in earlier."

"Keep it." Fili shook her head. "You may need it yet." Miley hesitated for a moment, then nodded and grasped the hilt again firmly.

No less than a moment later, large hairy arachnids immerged from the shadows. M and Miley sprung into action once more, calling out taunts to draw the spiders away from the dwarves in their weakened states.

"Attercop Attercop!" Miley shouted in a mocking tone. "Crazy cob and Lazy lob!" Spiders hissed at her angrily, shrieking in high inhuman screeches as they scrambled through branches.

M did the same in the other direction. "Come and get me you big piece of oversized frog food! Yeah I'm talking to you web brain! Maybe if you moved your fat asses you'd have a chance!" Less class, to be sure, but just as effective. And after she was a good distance away, M would slip on the ring and hurry to go help Miley, leaving the spiders to lunge frantically at a foe that was no longer there.

Miley was holding off the spiders as best she could, moving with surprising agility for someone with a ten month old toddler strapped to her back. Who, of course, was crying at the top of her lungs in fear.

When the spiders began falling apart by an unseen foe, Miley knew M had reached her. "We can't take on all of these things!" she called to her invisible friend. "Regroup with the dwarves and we'll make a run for it!"

"Run where?" asked the disembodied voice.

"Doesn't matter!"

"Alright!" The two dashed off, cutting at spiders as they passed.

The five dwarves were of clearer heads when the other two arrived, and together, the company stared off into the woods. It did not take long for the spiders to catch up. And any escape was forgotten as the company just tried to stay alive. They turned whatever they could into weapons, fighting back with nothing but their determination to live. It wasn't going well.

"Kili!" Fili yelled as her brother was dragged further into the shadows. A spider dropped in front of her, cutting off any hope of aid for her brother.

"I'll get him!" M replied, charging off after him.

Something in the air changed. You could almost _hear_ the epic musical cue as a blonde elf burst from the treetops, easily clearing out at least half of spiders, before ending with a flourish, his arrow notched and aimed at Thorin's face.

"Do not think I won't kill you dwarf." Legolas hissed. "It would be my pleasure." Two-dozen more elves melted from the trees, the arrows trained upon the company.

"Help!" Kili shouted again as the spider reared at him. M was nowhere to be seen. And the second epic musical cue began. With agility and grace, a lithe elf twirls into view, flaming hair streaming behind her and blades flashing about with deadly precision.

"Throw me a dagger!" Kili called to her as one last spider charged at him.

"If you think I am giving you a weapon, dwarf," the elf hissed. "You are mistaken!" the blade flew from her grasp, piercing itself straight between the creature's eight eyes. Kili's own eyes flew to the elf in amazement, then widened even more as the elf turned around.

"Miley?"

"Search them." Legolas commanded looking over the small group. His eyes went immediately to Miley. His brows furrowed in confusion as many of the other elves began to notice her as well. The dwarves looked around uneasily as Miley just stood still, wishing she could just shrink into the earth and wondering why these things always seemed to happen to _her_.

"Tauriel?" Legolas said the name slowly. Unease was evident in his voice.

"My Lord?" Another voice responded as Kili was shoved over to the others, the red haired elf looked to the prince expectantly. Then she followed everyone's gaze and found herself staring at

_Me?_

_I stared at the elf shamelessly, eye to eye with the elven warrior. There was no doubt about it. She had my hair, my face, and my body… just pointer ears. And more well toned, to be sure. I was thin, but definitely not athletic._

_"Shape stealer." The elf whispers breathily, stepping back in shock. The next thing I know, I am staring down an arrow shaft, it's head trained on me. "What are you fiend?" _

_"Tauriel, wait!" Legolas went to her side quickly, lowering the red haired elf's bow. For this, I am much obliged. "Perhaps this is not all it seems. Remember what the short one said." The one who looks like me… Tauriel, so it would seem, turns to Legolas in shock. _

_"You think she speaks the truth?" She's very indignant._

_"It would seem it is not the incoherent babble we first thought it to be." Legolas replied evenly. Tauriel purses her lips, but with one sharp movement, returns her arrow to its quiver. I find myself letting out a shaky breath._

_"Enwenno hain!" the elf prince ordered the others, who quickly relieved us of our weapons and started us forward through a long unobtrusive path._

_"Miley, what's going on?" I heard M whisper from next to me. I looked around to make sure no one heard her before replying. _

_"I have absolutely no idea."_

* * *

**... hm**


	57. Chapter 57: A King of Mirkwood

Gandalf stared at the wrent iron bars. Whatever had caused this had been powerful. And evil. The air inside the high fells was cold and thick with brewing hate. The wizard stiffened as he entered the opened cell. A stone structure inside was crushed into rubble.

Suddenly, something burst forth from it, darting past Gandalf, who whirled around to see… Radagast.

"Oh it's you!" Gandalf sighed in relief.

"Why am I here Gandalf?" Radagast asked, his face full of disappointment.

"Trust me, Radagast. I would not have called you here without good reason." The brown wizard removed his hat, allowing three sparrows to fly into the nest underneath before he replaced the moth eaten thing.

Then he looked at Gandalf. "This is not a nice place to meet."

"No it is not." The other agreed, making his way back onto the narrow walkway in the center chamber.

"These are dark spells Gandalf." Radagast examined the broken doorway. "Old, and full of hate. Who was buried here?"

"If he had a name, it's long since been lost. He would have been known only as a servant of evil. One of a number." Gandalf peered down, his staff casting a glow on the old walls beneath them. "One of nine." Eight other crypts sat lower down, each bent and crumbled like the first.

"Why now Gandalf?" Radagast asked, following the wizard through the dead woods outside. "I don't understand."

"The Ringwraiths have been summoned to Dol Guldur."

"But it cannot be the Necromancer. A human sorcerer could not wield such power."

Gandalf raised a bushy eyebrow. "Who said it was human?"

A loud cackling rang through the quiet. Both wizards turned in alarm to see an old crow laughing loudly on a withered branch.

"Foolish foolish." The thing taunted, cocking its head to one side. "Wizards ye may be, but fools is all _I_ see."

"Who sent you bird?" Radagast demanded. "You are not a creature from these parts."

"My mistress hath sent me. Yes she did. And at her demand, I do as she bid." The thing hopped further down it's branch, peering at the wizards. "Who you ask? The Sorceress. Staying at the fortress. The Necromancer and her, aligned. You wizards and folk, put in a bind."

"Why has she sent you here?" Gandalf asked, sharing a glance with the other wizard.

The crow squawked gleefully. "To taunt you fool! You know so little. You're minds are shriveled, old, and brittle. She comes to say her plan is sure. To send you on this grand detour. The lady of light? A dreadful sight. A pity her power's worth not."

"Speak your message bird and be gone." Radagast raised his staff. "Before I turn you into mushrooms!"

The crow hopped away again to a safer distance before speaking. "Impatient I see! As you should be. Very well, I'll give you the news. 'Beware wizard for the people that matter, always come in twos'." Then the old crow took flight, quickly disappearing behind the treetops.

After a moment of silence, Gandalf started away quickly.

"Where are you going?" Radagast asked in alarm.

"To rejoin the others." Gandalf replied quickly.

"Gandalf!"

"I started this; I cannot forsake them. They are all in grave danger."

"If what we've learned is true, the _world_ is in grave danger!" Radagast argued. "The power in that fortress will only grow stronger."

Gandalf turned to look towards the mountain. "You want me to cast my friends aside."

_The halls of the Mirkwood elves, even what little I had seen already, were astounding in an entirely different way from Rivendell. Though we were under a large cavern ceiling, it felt as though I was in a forest, large roots serving as walkways and stone pillars rising like trees to break through the surface._

_But I could not let my mind wander. The Mirkwood elves were not like their kin to the west and south. And we had to be wary when dealing with them and most especially, their king. Perhaps we could find a peaceable solution to all of this, that didn't involve getting thrown into the dungeons and left to rot. _

_M had disappeared. Who knew what had happened to her. Hopefully she had slipped in, but one could never assume._

_Sute, the five dwarves, and myself were lead through winding paths to a magnificent thrown room. Banners hung from high, draping down into the darkness. And siting, in the center was a tall throne, adorned with a multitude of antlers, and stairs that wound their way to the top. And siting atop the throne was the elven king. Thranduil. He observed us one by one, through clear blue eyes. And at last, he spoke._

_"Some may imagine a noble quest is at hand. A quest to reclaim a homeland, and slay a dragon." There was no urgency to his words, just firm judgment. "I myself suspect a more prosaic motive. Attempted burglary, or something of that ilk." No one spoke. "You have found a way in. You seek that which would bestow upon you the right to rule. The King's Jewel. The Arkenstone." I sucked in a breath. He hit the nail on the head. "There are gems in the mountain that I too desire. White Gems of pure starlight. I offer you my help."_

_Thorin regarded the elf king for a moment. "I am listening."_

_"It is a matter to discuss at a later time." Thranduil said, eyes turning outwards again. "For now, there are more pressing matters. For example, why one of your company shares the appearance of my Captain of the Guard." I swallowed, glancing nervously at Tauriel who simply glared back. "And how you came to know this one." Thranduil looked out over us, and one by one, we turned to follow his gaze. _

_Walking up the root like path dressed in tattered clothes and flanked by two elven guards, was Nimm. Her eyes lit upon seeing us, and a huge grin broke onto her face, thoroughly undaunted by the looks of murder most of the dwarves were giving her._

_"Hey guys! Did you miss me?"_

_"You!" Thorin spat, hand immediately going for his weapon, only to remember that it was Legolas who now had it, along with all our weapons. Not that it stopped him. Thorin wasted no time launching himself at her, only to be restrained by the guards as Nimm quickly slipped behind them. It seemed uncharacteristically cowardly of her until I noticed her hands were bound behind her back._

_"Cease this." Thranduil spoke, standing from his throne. He made his way slowly down the steps. "She is our prisoner and I will see to it that no prisoner of mine will come to harm unless I give the order." Begrudgingly, Thorin pulled himself away from the guards and stepped back, regaining his composure. Nimm stuck her tongue out at him. He growled. _

_I noticed, out of the corner of my eye, other guards releasing Kili who must have been trying to stop his uncle as well._

_"Why is she your prisoner, your majesty?" I asked Thranduil, knowing full well the question would most likely not be answered. _

_"That is not your business." The elven king answered._

_"It's cause I have short hair." Nimm smirked. "Where's M got to?"_

_"Silence, short one." The king commanded. She rolled her eyes, but did, in fact, shut up. Thranduil turned back to the company. "What dealings transpire within my kingdom is my affair. What matters, is I have learned things from the girl about your quest. I believe a profitable alliance can be struck." He turned the stride back to the base of his throne. "All that matters is your connection with the girl."_

_Thorin glared at him, then huffed. "She was, at one time, a member of our company."_

_"And now?"_

_"She was banished." Balin stepped in, trying to calm Thorin down by speaking for him. _

_"Why was she banished?"_

_"That, as you say, is not your business." Thorin replied harshly. _

_Thranduil regarded him coolly. "Very well. Be secretive if you will. Now we shall discuss her." His eyes fell on me._

_My throat ran dry, but I forced myself to speak, trying to keep the waver out of my voice. "Forgive me for my impertinence, your majesty, but if you believe me to be a shape stealer or something of that sort, I can only say the same about her." I nodded to Tauriel. "I have looked like this all my life, certainly long before coming here. How do I know she is not the shape stealer instead of I?"_

_"I tried to tell them you know." Nimm shrugged. "I saw the elf lady and I was like 'dude, my friend looks _exactly_ like you' but they just ignored me."_

_"Not all of us." Legolas said quietly. A nasty feeling began in the pit of my stomach, churning unpleasantly, though I tried my best to fight it down and focus on the situation at hand._

_"You expect me to believe," Thranduil spoke, "that two individuals of different race with no connection to the other just… happen to share the same appearance to almost the very last detail?"_

_"Yep!" Nimm chirped._

_"Will you shut up?" I groaned, feeling nauseous now._

_"You spoke of an alliance." Thorin spoke; bring up the matter at hand._

_"I can help you reach the mountain, in return, you shall give me what is rightfully mine."_

_"Rightfully yours?" Thorin snarled._

_"Your grandfather promised them to my people." Thranduil spoke fiercely. "He accepted our deal. Took the goods we had agreed to trade for them. And in return, he took the gems from my fingertips and sent me on my way. You know this, Thorin Oakenshield. You saw this transpire. You were there."_

_"Aye." The dwarven king's voice is low and quiet as he speaks. "I was there."_

_"Those gems, and they alone are rightfully mine. That is all I ask in return for my aid. A far bargain, is it not?" Thorin looked away, seemingly at war within himself. Over what, I had no idea. It seemed simple enough to me. Give the elf on small box of gems and get him on our side, or spend the rest of our life in a cell. Balin conferred with him in hushed voices, trying to make him see reason. I couldn't tell if it was working or not. Fili and Bofur shared an uneasy glance. And Kili just kept staring at Nimm, his mouth moving. He was mouthing… words? She was mouthing back. The two of them weren't paying attention at all!_

'What. Are. You. Doing. Here?' Kili formed the words silently but slowly, making sure I could see it through the low orange glow of the place.

'It. Just. Kind. Of. Happened.' I mouthed back. He gave me an annoyed glare. I just shrugged in reply.

'You. Are. Reckless.'

'That's. Why. You. Like. Me.' I grin back, chuckling silently to myself. Kili's face relaxes slightly in relief.

'You really are her.' I raise one eyebrow in confusion, not quite catching what he said. Or if I did, not sure what it meant. He shook his head, telling me to forget it.

"I have one condition!" We both turned our attention back to the kings as Thorin spoke up again. "You will let me have the girl."

What.

Thranduil did not seem to keen on the idea either. Not that I was of much use to him, but he did not like Thorin adding any more, when the elf was already being oh so generous. "Very well." The elven king nodded. "But I would advise against killing her. You may come to regret it."

Thorin glared at him with a don't-tell-me-what-to-do look before turning to me. The elves untied all of us.

"Well…" I tried to look cheery. "How's it going?" Thorin pulled a sword from a nearby guard's belt and swung it at me. But it hadn't gone more than four inches before it had been forcefully stopped by Kili _and_ Fili. Thorin glared at his nephew, who glared right back.

"I will not let you kill the woman I love." Kili growled low in his throat. I got soooo lucky with that whole One thing. If I wasn't about to be beheaded and all that I might have swooned.

"She has seduced you!" Thorin argued.

"I don't care!" Kili shouted back, speaking as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "She is my One, and if you'll have to go through me before you harm a single hair on her head."

"Kili…" Thorin growled warningly.

"Uncle, enough." Fili spoke up, moving around to look Thorin in the eye. "This is a battle we cannot win."

"You side with that witch?" Thorin mumbled disbelievingly. Gee thanks.

"I will not let you _kill_ her." Fili corrected him. "I won't let Kili go through the same fate as our mother. I can't let that happen." The dwarf king frowned in confusion, loosening his grip on his sword and taking a step back.

"She is evil."

"I'm trying to change." My voice was out of my mouth before I even knew what happened. Everyone looked at me in surprise. "I really… really am. You wanna know the reason I'm here? There was a boy. And elven kid lost in Mirkwood. I was just trying to help him find his way back home." No one spoke. "See? I was trying to do the right thing. And we did it. We finally found the elven gate. The next thing I know, he's lying dead next to me in a pool of his own blood, and it looks like I'm the one who did it."

"You were holding the bloody knife in your hand." Tauriel gritted her teeth.

"It wasn't even my knife!" I threw my hands in the air. Everyone tensed at my sudden movement. "I did _not_ kill that boy. I may be a liar. And a thief, even an 'adulteress'." I sneer at Thorin. "But I am not a killer. I am not now. And I never will be! But, since no one will believe me, then I guess there's no point to me even wasting my breath, is there?" My voice faded into echoes, then silence. And everyone stared, or glared at me, unmoving, barely even blinking.

Then Miley threw up.

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***evil laughter* I'm having far too much fun with this story. (And don't worry. I actually have a direction of where I'm headed with everything here)**


	58. Chapter 58: Grave News

**If you at any point start thinking "How?" during this chapter. Just know that my reply is "Elf Magic... so HAH" **

**Enjoy :)**

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Despite her protests that she was fine, Miley was escorted quickly to the healing house, or room as the case may be. And of course, the rest of us followed in concern, minus Thorin and Balin, as they stayed with Thranduil to discuss matters of importance or whatever.

Legolas and Tauriel took it upon themselves to keep an eye on the rest of us while  
Miley was treated by another elf. The elven woman asked her questions, trying to get a bearing on the situation. Were you bitten by any spiders? No. Did you eat any mushrooms? No. Lack of water? Maybe. On and on.

"It hasn't been the first time." Miley volunteered the information. "I've thrown up a couple times recently. It's the air in this forest, isn't it?" I saw Bofur look down at Sute, probably wondering what the air did to someone so young. Weaker immune system, and all that. But the infant was just looking around happily, sucking on one hand as it's head wobbled back and forth.

"The air of the forest, even in it's current state, has not been known to have such effects." The elf frowned. "Lie down and I'll see if I can figure out exactly what's going on." Miley complied silently.

Where was M? And Rina? I looked around for any sort of sign of them, but there was nothing. I turned to ask one of the dwarves when the elf spoke up again.

"Ah, a simple explanation after all." the elf smiled in relief as Miley sat up quizzically. "I have good news, miss. You're with child!"

Everyone's eyes got wide as we stared at Miley. How… when…

"No more than a week old by my estimate."

I felt my stomach drop as Miley's face turned pale. The orcs. It was too cruel. Far too cruel.

"No." Miley shook her head, trembling violently as she stared at the elf unbelievably. "No. It can't be true. It can't…"

"I don't understand." Bofur looked at everyone in confusion. "What happened?"

"Kill it." Her voice was strange and cold. I looked at the fear in her eyes as she stared at the elf. "Please… Kill it. I can't… I…"

"Breathe." I hurried over to her side, trying to be as steady and confident as I could. I wasn't good at comforting people, but I needed to try. Miley's eyes frantically found my face as she continued to shake. "Breathe Miley. We just need to stay calm. Every thing will be all right. Just breathe. Clear your head. And think."

She was trying. I could see her taking deeper, slower breaths before she returned to a panicked state. The doctor elf person rubbed her back comfortingly, whispering soothing elvish, though I was pretty sure Miley couldn't understand her.

It felt like an unbearable long time until she finally started to calm down. "She should rest." The elf said, to the dwarves.

"I will lead you to a guest room." Tauriel said quietly, seeming strangely subdued compared to what I had seen of her before.

Bofur made his way over to Miley's side. "Alright lass, here we go." He helped her to stand, shakily, Sute still in one arm.

"I'll help." Fili hurried over to Miley's other side and the two dwarves aided her between the two of them, hurrying after Tauriel to a guest room. They quickly disappeared from sight. I soon noticed that it left Legolas, Kili, and myself as the only ones still there. We looked at each other awkwardly.

"So… do I actually get a room now instead of a cell?" I asked hesitantly, ignoring the anger that flashed in Kili's eyes.

"Yes." Legolas nodded, a little begrudgingly. "If Oakenshield approves."

"I'll keep an eye on her." Kili growled slightly at the elf.

"Very well." The elf prince looked down upon the dwarf. "If you are tired from your journey, you will find the guest rooms down that hall, third corridor on the left." The two glared at each other. I looked between the two of them for a moment before shrugging.

"Okay, thanks blondie." I made my way down the hallway indicated, hearing Kili's footfalls as he followed me, probably still glaring at Legolas. After we were a good distance away, Kili matched my pace, seething.

"This is ridiculous. How did you put up with these elves?" He growled.

"I didn't have much of a choice." I shrugged. "It was either that or spiders."

"They treated you like a prisoner!"

"They thought I was a murderer." I replied, gritting my teeth. "You can hardly blame them."

Kili stopped and grabbed my hand, pulling me to face him. "You didn't do it… did you?"

I shook my head. "I have no idea what happened, but I would _never_ do that. His name was Amar. He was a cool kid. The only reason I made it through this accursed forest alive! There would be no reason for me to kill him. No matter how you look at it, someone framed me. And I want to know who."

"Your sure?" Kili asked hesitantly.

"I am." I replied evenly, my face grim.

Kili let out a relieved sigh. "Good." Then he stepped closer, kissing me tenderly. I smiled into his mouth before kissing him back. I had missed his warmth.

"Your uncle is going to kill me." I said, pulling away breathless.

"I won't let him do that." Kili said, eyes wander back up to meet mine.

"You might not be able to stop it." I raise his fingers to my lips, resting them there as I let my eyes close. "I need to be the one to convince him otherwise. Or your family will never accept me."

"They'll learn to accept you." Kili's brow creased with worry.

I chuckled, letting our hands drop down again. "Only I can prove that I am worthy. No one else can do that for me. You know that."

Kili's frown deepened before he pulled me even closer, resting our foreheads together. "I just wish I could make them see. You aren't the horrible person that they think you are. Reckless yes. Evil, no."

"Well that makes two of us then." I laughed, pecking his cheek. "I'll find a way Kili. I'll prove myself. I will."

"And then we can be together." Kili smiled, nuzzling my neck, making me have to pull away so I could talk without laughing.

"Yes." I grinned at him. "Then we can be together."

"And we'll get married?" Kili asked hopefully.

Something welled up in me, and I couldn't think of any other answer. "Yes." That was it. I was going to find away to stay in this world. I would find a way. Even if I had to search past the end of the earth.

"And we'll have lots of happy, reckless children together?" He grinned playfully.

I laughed loudly. "Let's not get carried away there!" The two of us laughed, stealing quick kisses from the other.

"You should be ashamed of yourselves." Kili and I sprang apart, turning quickly to see Fili standing farther down the hall, glowering. "She's in there crying herself to sleep. You know that? And here you two are, sneaking about Thorin's back, giggling like children." Kili looked down in embarrassment.

I did no such thing. "I know Miley, in case you've forgotten. She needs space when she's upset."

"I think she's past 'upset' at this point." Fili growled.

"I know that!" I snapped back. "But she needs a bit to herself before she'll be able to work through everything. And when that time comes, I'll be there for her. Don't doubt that."

Fili glared at me for a moment, before turning to Kili. "Fine, but you should still be ashamed of yourself. If I had been Thorin just now, you'd both be dead."

"I thought you were on our side." Kili looked at his sister, feeling betrayed.

"I'm not on either side, Kili." Fili hissed. "I wasn't going to let you suffer like ma did. But that doesn't mean I approve of this. And I most certainly don't approve of your actions. The two of you are making this harder for yourself." As much as I hate to admit, she had a point. "I know you've always been reckless, brother." Fili frowned in a whisper. "But I had hoped you were smarter than this." Kili's face fell.

This is what he had always feared. Being a disappointment to his family. To Fili, to his uncle… And I had brought it about. I gritted my teeth together. I wouldn't let him live with that. Not for long. Somehow, I had to find a way to regain our credibility, our honor.

But how was I supposed to do that in this twisted, medieval world?

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**Well we'll see how this goes... (haven't had any views on any of my stories since monday. I don't know if it's school or an error or something but it's kinda weirding me out)**


	59. Chapter 59: We'll Get Through This

Ideas and plans passed through my head as I made my way down the long elven hall. Even if Miley did need space at the moment, I still wanted to check up on her and see how she was. She was more than a little distraught before. A door opened up ahead and Bofur slipped out quietly, a Sute in one arm. He did not look too happy.

"How is she?" I asked softly as we neared each other.

Bofur shook his head. "Not too good lass. I thought she was calming down, then she closed her eyes and would say nothing. I don't know how to help her." The hatted dwarf seemed truly distraught.

"I'll check on her." I frowned.

"Alright," Bofur nodded. "But be gentle with the lass. She's got a lot to work through."

I scoffed lightly. "When am I ever not gentle?" I meant it as a joke, but Bofur's look clearly meant that he did not approve. I sobered up. "I'll be careful."

"Good." Bofur nodded, and after a moment longer of hesitation, he left. I walked in the other direction, stopping at the door that Bofur had just come out of. It was simple, yet elegant.

Very quietly, I knocked on the door. There was no reply from the other side, even when I quietly called her name. I assumed she was asleep and opened the door. Instead, I found her kneeling on the ground, elbows resting on the bed and hands clasped together below her chin.

I had walked in on her praying a few times before when we shared a dorm, and I always made fun of her for it. Not this time. No matter what she actually thought was going on when she prayed, the purpose was still the same. It was comforting to her, calming. And that was what she needed right now. Not jesting and agitation.

I stood just inside the door and waited. It was not a short time until she finally stirred, moving her hand to form a plus sign in front of her. Or a cross, anyway. Then her hands fell to her sides and she collapsed from kneeling to sitting. Her spine bent horribly as her shoulders sagged. After the longest time, tear stained eyes turned to me. And she let out a single, choked, sob.

"I don't know what to do." Her voice was so small… helpless… lost. My feet carried me to her side and I collapsed next to her. I pulled Miley into my arms and she cried. And I cried. And I would stroke her head soothingly. I did not speak. Nothing I could say would help.

We sat on the hard floor in a foreign land and cried together.

She cried for herself. I cried for both of us. The guilt… was a heavy burden at that moment. And I feared then that I would be crushed by it's weight. Smothered into dust and tossed to the twisting winds. But if I did that, then how could I put any of this to rights? So I set my jaw, braced my arms for the burden, and continued. I would carry this guilt with me every step, and I would grow stronger from it. But for now, I cried.

After what must have been a few hours, we found ourselves sitting on the bed, backs resting against the earthen wall as we stared, bleary eyed at the wall opposite us.

"I can't kill it, M." Miley sniffed from next to me. I looked over at her, my head moving slowly from emotional exhaustion. "I would never be able to do it."

"Because of your religion?" I knew they were very picky about abortions and stuff like that.

"Because… it's human."

"It's an orc too."

"It doesn't matter." Miley shook her head. "I had trouble killing the _spiders_. The only reason I did, was because I had no other choice. It was survival. And they were trying to eat me."

"Miley…"

"I could never. _Never_ take an innocent life on purpose." Her hands formed into weak fists as she pounded her knees for emphasis.

"It will make your life a living hell." I said frankly. "Not only is it a baby, it might not even be _human_. What do you think will come of that? There's no way it'll survive in the real world. Hell, I don't even know what'll happen to it when you get back. It'll probably just disappear completely!" An unreadable expression crossed over Miley's face as she stared at the ground.

"But it's a life. It can't just… disappear."

"It's a character." I corrected her. "In a book."

"If I go back… won't that be the same as murder?" Miley looked up at me with horrified eyes. "I can't go back."

I stared back at her hopelessly at a loss for words. I opened and closed my mouth a few times before I was finally able to make a sound. "It's not real. None of this is real! You don't belong here Miley. You can't stay here. That isn't how it's supposed to be! You are a human. From earth. You have a bright future ahead of you. A loving family, a future career, a boyfriend apparently… that is where you belong. That is your home!"

Miley's eyes grew wide when I mentioned her boyfriend, as if she had just realized a whole new level of complications that it posed. But as I finished my rant, she focused again. "Our home." She said. "It's where you belong too."

I shook my head wordlessly before speaking. "It was my power in the first place. These books become real at my command, and no one else's. Remember that. If anyone from the real world belongs here, it's me. Besides… there's not meant to be two of the same person. That just doesn't happen. M, wherever that idiot is now, is the one who'll go back with you. No questions about it."

"And you'll vanish." Miley looked at me through eyes of pity.

"Don't write me off just yet." I raised an eyebrow. "I'm not going down without a fight. Maybe, somehow, I'll figure out a way to extend the book. Live on, for a while. Hopefully Kili and I can sort out everything and… I don't know… go orc hunting or something." I tried to put on a lighthearted smile. But a new emotion appeared on Miley's face that wiped my smile away completely.

"Nimm… I'm so sorry." She looked ready to cry again. "I was going to tell you, but you just seemed so happy and-"

"What?" I demanded, a bit harsher than I intended as my patience ebbed.

"At the end of the book…" Miley swallowed painfully. "…Kili ...dies."

I could _feel_ the blood drain from my face as I sat there, motionless. My breaths came faster, deeper, as I tried to keep myself thinking positively. "H-" the word caught in my throat. "How?"

Miley looked like she felt horrible for telling me. "In a war. Against the orcs, he and Fili die defending Thorin but they… don't really succeed."

"It can be rewritten." The words are out of my mouth almost instantly.

"Nimm."

"I'll stop it from happening. We've changed events already, haven't we?"

"Well… I think so but-"

"Then I'll change this one too. I won't let him die. Not now, now that I've finally worked up the guts to admit my own feelings towards him."

"Some happenings may just be out of our control." Miley tried to talk reason, but I would hear none of it. I stood quickly, blocking out any words she tried to say.

"I'm going to save him, Miley." I vowed, staring her straight in the eye. "And I won't let _anyone_ stop me." Then I strode out of the room, banging the door open right into someone's face. Kili and I stared straight at each other for a long, horrific moment.

"I'm going to die?" "You heard everything?" We asked at the same time. Both of us stuttered for a moment before Kili finally spoke coherent words.

"I was… just… coming to see… how Miley was doing… I didn't mean to-" his eyebrows narrowed in confusion. "What do you mean this is a book? Miley said I'm going to die. Why? How does she-"

"I _won't_ let that happen." I gritted my teeth firmly. "You will _not_ die."

"But-"

"No." I cut him off. "I won't accept it. You are not going to die Kili. Not until you've lived a long, full life, and your hair is the color of snow topped mountains." Kili's troubled gaze softened slightly. But only slightly.

"You think… this is a book." He spoke, not as a question, but as a baffled statement.

I took a sharp inhale, gently taking one of his hands in my own. "Come on," I said, pulling him to one of the empty rooms. "This may take awhile to explain."

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**Well... that was the last of my back up chapters. Gotta get myself writing again so this story can continue! (school makes it very hard to find the time)**

**Hope you enjoyed it!**


	60. Chapter 60: A Dream?

Fili's steps sounded heavily through the hall as she and Bofur walked back to the guest rooms to get some sleep. They had tried to convince Thorin to get some rest as well, but he and Balin refused. The two dwarves were still with King Thranduil, planning. It was tense between the kings, but somehow Balin managed to keep the peace. Fili was quite certain it was night at this point. No more shafts of sunlight wafted in from the cave wall high above.

At last, they came to the short hall of doors. Fili made note of Miley's current room. It was one of two rooms with closed doors. The other one, Fili was not quite sure if she wanted to know which person or _persons_ was behind that door. As if to answer her unasked question, it banged open and Kili stormed out. He paused in the middle of the hallway, looking around lost and scared. His eyes fell on Fili and Bofur and he quickly strode off in the other direction. Fili moved to go after him when Nimm appeared at the door as well. To the dwarf's relief, both of them appeared fully dressed.

Nimm looked after Kili anxiously before heaving a heavy sigh and letting her head drop.

"What happened?" Fili called to her in mild annoyance.

Nimm looked up in surprise. "…nothing. It's nothing, really. It would be too much work to explain, anyway. Kili just… needs some time to think I guess."

"Why? What did you say to him?" Bofur asked in confusion, adjusting his hold on the sleeping Sute.

"I told you already, it would take too long to explain." Nimm sighed. "Look, I didn't hurt him this time okay?" She addressed Fili specifically. "So don't worry about that."

"Too late." Fili said back sharply. Nimm rolled her eyes, but stopped as the other closed door opened. Everyone turned to see Miley come out of her room.

Her eyes were beat red and swollen from crying so much, and her hair looked a frightful mess, but she still managed to smile as everyone's eyes fell on her. "Sorry to interrupt your conversation." She apologized easily, walking over to Bofur and asking hesitantly if she could hold Sute. Bofur agreed immediately, handing over the toddler who stirred slightly in dream. "I'll just be on my way and let you all finish talking. Do you know where I might find some food in this labyrinth?"

"Oh, that we be just down the hall and… why don't I just go with you lass?" Bofur smiled kindly.

"If you wouldn't mind?" Miley laughed gently.

"Not at all." The two started down the hall at an easy pace before stopping as something loud hit the floor behind them.

"Nimm?" Fili's voice sounded in distress. Miley looked back quickly, eye widening in panic as she saw Nimm's form limp on the ground.

"Nimm!"

It's dark. The hollow sounds of metal fill the air. Still air. I am inside… underground? The dragon. I've been here before. In a dream. A dream of fire and death. Is this a dream once again? So many questions. Not enough answers. The dragon. It eye is on me. It penetrates through me unnaturally. I feel as if it shouldn't be able to see me, but it does. It should be fine. This is a dream… right?

'So you've come again, Sorceress.' His voice rumbles as he speaks to me. This must be a dream now. Anxiety, most likely. Worrying about the dragon while bring up memories from the recent past when Rina and I pretended to be the Sorceress to trick the goblins. Where is Rina? And M… 'I've told you before, I will not join your petty struggle for power.' I look back at the dragon. He's definitely talking to me. Though I have no clue what he's talking about.

'A pity.' I jump as a woman's voice sounds from behind me. Then it walks through me. A wholly unnerving feeling. I peer through the gloom to get a better look. She is old, incredibly old. Not much more than skin stretched over bone at this point. Her voice quavers as she talks but there is a cunning power behind it. It's almost familiar. 'Will nothing sway your mind Wyrm? I have such use for you.'

'I will not be _used_ wretch. Do you even know to whom you speak?'

'Yes yes.' The old woman waves him off. 'Smaug the Terrible, the Great, the Magnanimous, all of that bull.' A cruel glint comes to her eye as she raises her head to look at the dragon. 'You've been sleep far too long in the hellhole. Lazing around like an overgrown newt. If only Oakenshield could see you now… He'd probably cleave your head straight off.'

'Ignorant-'

'Calm yourself; don't get your tail in a knot. It's your own fault for growing so weak.'

'Weak am I?' Smaug hisses, rising in indignation. 'I'll show you _weak_!'

My eyes squint shut as a blinding flash of fire bursts into life, spewing itself across the still air, consuming the old woman and leaving nothing of her remaining as it passes.

Well… so much for the Sorceress. Considering all the hype this lady has been getting I thought she would last longer than that.

'Impressive, I'll admit.' Never mind, there she is. The old woman is now standing on the other side of the dragon, a smirk across her face. 'It's good to know not all those tall tales are fake after all.'

Smaug turns to stare her down, growling in the back of his throat before relaxing and sitting back again, all proper like. 'It's good to know the mindless hoards are following a complete buffoon.' He replies evenly, admiring one sharp claw extended before him delicately.

'So happy you approve.' The old woman cackles, giving a fake bow. 'Perhaps you-'

'But my answer is still no.' the dragon interrupts. 'I have no interest in becoming your puppet.'

'Puppet?' the Sorceress grins. "Why, that's exactly what I had in mind." I watch every moment as the old woman pulls out a thin stick. It looks like a wand from Harry Potter, or something.

Then she mutters something under her breath and green light shoots out of the wand. Smaug falls down dead.

The Sorceress grins, stirring her wand through the air as it leaves a faint purple residue. 'I do hope you'll be of more use than that headless troll.'

"Nimm!"

My eyes shot open as I awakened. I gasped reflexively as some sort of strange feeling shot through my head, like falling into a bed from three stories up. I blinked a few times, as faces came into view. Miley, Fili, and Bofur.

"What happened?" I asked without thinking, I was only have paying attention as they answered, my head was throbbing like… well I don't know like what, but it was throbbing.

"You just collapsed lass." Bofur explained with a frown. "One minute you were talking and the next-" he motioned with his hands to indicate my present state.

"How long was I out?" I tried to sit up painfully.

The others shared a glance. "Just a moment actually…" Miley frowned. "Is everything alright?" And I remembered.

I looked up at the others, eyes wide with panic. "They… they've got a dragon."

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**Well... would you look at that. another event I'll need to explain later. wonderful**


	61. Chapter 61: To Regain My Honor

Thorin looked like he was about to murder someone when I told him the new information on Smaug's allegiance. Or more specifically, Thorin looked like he was about to murder me.

"How do you know this?" He thundered; knuckles cracking against the wooden table he and Thranduil were currently planning upon.

"I _told_ you. It was like… a dream or something." I shrugged in annoyance. The others backed me up with various nods.

"And I suppose you just 'happened' to know that this dream was completely real and actually took place?" Thorin said sarcastically. That took me by surprise. I did not know that dude could be sarcastic.

"Well…" My mouth opened, then closed immediately. I grumbled in annoyance. "Well yes."

"Am I supposed to trust your word?" Thorin demanded. "After you've lied time and time again? How do I know you aren't the Sorceress yourself?"

"I'm not!"

"How can we believe you!" We were both shouting by this point, disturbing the general silence of the Greenwood.

"I don't know! Maybe you should stop thinking I'm evil just because I'm an idiot!" I hollered back at him. Something in my words set off a trigger and my fury immediately ebbed away, leaving only an intense fire. "Alright." I nodded. Thorin narrowed his eyes suspiciously. I sighed heavily through my nose. "We don't like each other. That's fine. But if we can't trust each other than that will be a problem in the future. You want to kill me, right?" Thorin did not respond, but continued to watch me closely in confusion. "Well here's your chance."

"What?" Miley's voice came from behind me loudly. I turned to meet her completely incredulous stare. Everyone else had pretty similar faces.

"What?" I shrugged back before quickly grabbing one of Fili's two blades and pointing it towards Thorin challengingly. "I challenge you, Thorin Oakenshield, to a fair, honorable, duel. Kill me if you can, but if I disarm you, you'll approve of Kili and me being a thing." A thing. Great job M. Real classy language there.

I swallowed, getting rid of my nerve again as I forced myself to meet Thorin's cold eyes. Slowly, he pulled out Orcrist; it's steel scraping against the scabbard. "Very well." His voice rumbled.

I swallowed again, my throat closing up. I was going to die.

And it began.

I was put on the defensive two seconds into the fight. I surprised myself by actually managing to block the first few attacks before I was forced to use tables and pillars as cover.

What was I thinking? What was I thinking! Idiot idiot idiot. I had no skill in a sword. Thorin was a dwarven king! Idiot.

"I'm dead I'm dead I'm dead." I repeated in a chant as I continued to block the furious sword strokes. My eye darted momentarily to the others watching, dumbstruck. If I could duck behind them as cover, it might make him hesitate long enough to-

No. This was supposed to be fair and honorable. Idiot. You made the rules so you damn well better stick to them!

I gritted my teeth, and set my feet firm to the ground, putting new strength in my blocks in an attempt to turn the tide. Thorin made a small grunt of surprise at the new resistance, but it didn't slow him down. He took advantage of my unstable position and swung swiftly at my neck. I brought my sword up to block, but I wasn't fast enough. Pain shot through my arm as the blade's edge cut deep. I stepped back just in time to keep it from getting sawed off. My eyes fluctuated and I lost my balance. There was red everywhere and my whole right side was drenched.

I hit the ground, Fili's sword clattering out of my reach. Thorin's silhouette loomed above me, sword point drifting to me. This was it. He was going to kill me. Unless…

If I could kick his feet out from under him, I might be able to…

No.

I took a deep breath, biting through the pain and prepared myself for the end. It was time to face death. If I could sleep for real, I could die for real. I wondered what it would be like.

My eyes lingered on the sword point hovering over me. I couldn't focus on it. It was just kind of… hazy. I didn't know I could loose blood so fast. My breathing was ragged, but steady. I waited for the end.

But the sword point seemed to be getting… further away. Not that it was easy to tell. It looked like there were at least five of them now.

Then it disappeared completely form sight. I thought I was passing out until I heard the sound of sliding metal over the pounding blood rushing through my head.

A firm hand grabbed my uninjured arm and hoisted me to my feet. I tried to stabilize myself, confused and lightheaded as I was. Bofur and Fili were at my side in an instant, saying… something. Miley was there too I guess, calling to an elf for help. Then another Miley came over and I passed out.

I returned to consciousness with a dullness that often comes with being drugged (something I'd experienced more times than I care to mention). Kili was next to me. I knew it instantly and was immediately grateful. It took me a moment longer to realize another important fact.

"Why am I still alive?" The question escapes in a sigh. I can get killed by a stray arrow, but not by a sword wielding bloodthirsty dwarf?

"You almost weren't." Kili's voice spoke, berating me. "What were you thinking, you almost died!"

"Yeah but I didn't." I chuckled, and stopped almost immediately.

"You scared me half to death you know." He wasn't in a joking mood. "It hurt. A lot." Right… I forgot about that. I forced my eyes open and peered up into Kili's face.

"I'm not dead." I spoke again, more to myself than to Kili.

He sighed and took my hand in his own. "Somehow."

I relaxed into the bed and let my hand absorb his heat. I wasn't dead.

And before I could wonder how, the ominous form of Thorin entered the room, brooding as usual. I stared at him. He stared at me.

"I'm not dead." I said. Apparently I felt the need to share this startling revelation with everyone I saw.

Thorin nodded. "Indeed."

"What happened, did Fili step in or something, I was sure-" a wave of tiredness hit me and I felt that I didn't have the energy to finish my words.

The dwarven king regarded me for a moment before collecting himself and beginning to speak. "I do not like you as a person. I doubt I ever will. I find you intolerable and crude in the simplest of terms." Gee thanks. "However, I believe one day, you may become someone that I can call an ally, perhaps even someone I could trust. Though Mahal knows that day is long in coming." Then he turned to Kili. "I tell you now I will never think of you the same for your actions. They were reckless and foolhardy, and not worthy of a Prince of Durin." Kili's face fell. "You are my nephew, all the same, and kin will not be so easily cast aside. We cannot grow if mistakes are never made. Let us hope this is one mistake you can pick yourself up from." I frowned in confusion. Was this… what I thought it was?

Thorin turned to me again. "What you did today was thoughtless and rash. How you ever survived this long in life, I'll never know." Well, I kind of haven't, really. I've had more deaths than I can count on my fingers, but anyway. "It is not wise to tempt the wrath of an angry dwarf." I could have almost sworn there was a slight smile on his face as he spoke. "Make sure it doesn't happen again." I nodded numbly in response. He nodded back, satisfied with his little speech. "Get some rest. The sooner we can resume the journey the better. Durin's Day draws ever closer." And he left. Just like that.

The room was silent for a long moment. Until, finally, Kili and I looked at each other, eyes wide and somewhat stunned.

"Was that what I think it was?" I asked allowed.

"I think… It might have been." Kili replied, equally unsure of himself.

"Then that means…"

Kili smiled. "He's willing to give us a chance." I couldn't help but grin. At least I didn't almost loose my arm for nothing!

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**What a reckless pair those two are! Man, I love this story SO MUCH! (Is that arrogant to say? That's arrogant isn't it?)**


	62. Chapter 62:Dreaming in the Foreshadow

**Sorry for the short chapter and the late upload. Between illness and computer troubles Getting this chapter up was far from easy. But I hope you enjoy it all the same. A lot is hinted at in this chapter so pay attention!**

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This is a dream. A normal dream or a strange one, I cannot tell. It is dark. There's so much going on. Nothing at all. I see home. Dad. Friends. Family. Stories. Adventures. Past.

"Where are you going darling?" Mom.

"The stream has turtles they said! I'm gonna go catch a turtle!"

"A Turtle? Oh my well that is something. Are you going with the kids across the street?"

"Yep." I'm rushing to the door.

"Alright well be careful in the stream! There's plenty sharp glass if your not careful."

"I will be."

I arrive back home, one of the kids supporting me on either side and a foot suspended in the air, dripping red liquid across the ground. The drops turn to gems. The gems litter a golden horde.

"This should be enough." The old witch's voice. "Alright Smaugypoo, ready to use that flame of yours? Quite convenient really, these dwarves setting up a giant forge right next to a huge pile of gold. It fits my needs quite well."

There is a crack on the wall before me. I have the vaguest sense that I've seen it before.

My vision lightens. There's so much going on. Something's up. I see the Halls of Mirkwood. Kili. Dwarves. Elves. Spiders. Compromised. Present.

"Where do you think your going you little scamp?" Miley.

Sute giggles as she toddles away down the elven halls. Her pudgy legs are starting to sort themselves out as Miley follows behind, watching her like a mother hen.

"You're getting fast there!" Miley laughs. Sute giggles louder and toddles faster. "Woah, be careful darling, your going to fall if you go that fast!"

Miley is carrying a crying Sute back the way they came, the toddler's need streaked scarlet with scrapes. The scraps turn to tears. Tears across a young woman's shoulder.

"Do what you want, _filth_, I'll never give in to your schemes." M's voice. "You'll never break me!"

An orc snarls in response, raising a crude knife. "You'll be broken enough when I'm through with you." So many orcs.

"Why are you doing this?" Rina cries in alarm from a cage on the ground nearby.

"Shut up sprite!" Another orc barks. "How dare you question your masters orders!"

"She is not my _master_ anymore orc." Rina snaps back. "Let go of me before I tear your eyeballs out!" The orcs laugh mockingly in return.

The light is blinding. There's so much going on. I can't comprehend it all. I see a frozen lake. Myself. Others. Order. Death. Hopeless. Future.

"Mary Sue, can you hear me?" Who? "Mary Sue. Mary. Nimm!"

She's talking to me. To _me_ me!

"Y-yes! Yes I can here you!"

"Thank goodness." The voice sounds relieved. "Listen, Ma- Nimm, I don't have much time. I've tried to show you something that will help. Past, Present, and Future will meet upon the field of Ice. They are all intertwined you must know of them! The elven healing is interfering with my magic. It may confuse you. Remember these moments Nimm. They will be important. I hope. If they are the images I have meant to show you. The final test is fast approaching, you must prepare yourself. You must have faith in Miley, she is the only one who can save us. Trust her and prepare. Evil has been working in the shadows. You must put a stop to them. Mary Sue, you must be strong. Beware the"

Lollipops and Jack Russell Terriers dance across my vision. A giant pony head floats up from the ground underneath me like a balloon. The birds are flying underground as worms tunnel through the sky. I am a purple frog. This is a dream.

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**Well I hope you liked it, short though it was!**


	63. Chapter 63: I hate Babies

**Sorry Once again for the very short chapter! Next one will be longer, I promise*crosses fingers* I've been super bogged down with school and testing in a few days so it was hard finding time to squeeze this in!**

**I also noticed that it has been _forever_ since I last thanked all my readers! A special thanks to Shining Heart of Thunderclan and MutteringsofMadness for their awesome reviews. Seriously, you two are amazing. I love you both so much you have no idea.**

**Well, on with the chapter!**

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I woke with a subtle jerk, immediately feeling the sore confusion that often accompanies dreams, especially the long weird ones. I shifted a little in my bed in the healing house, trying to settle myself into waking once again. My arm was killing me, even with all the herbs the elves had lathered onto it.

"Morning." I forced my eyes open and craned my neck away from my pillow to see Kili sitting in a chair near the foot of the bed. He seemed to be sipping on some sort of drink, a large parchment in his other hand. It was clearly worn around the edges.

I let my head fall back onto the pillow, relaxing in a way that seemed to me a mix of peace and exhaustion. "Morning… or evening, whenever it is." Kili chuckled quietly in understanding, though as a dwarf I'm sure he was quite used to being underground all the time.

I myself was having some trouble with it. And being cooped up in the infirmary wasn't helping either.

My mind wandered back to the dream. I tried to push the strangeness of the end out of my head and focus on the images the stranger showed me. Or was she a stranger? She sounded so very familiar.

"Oh she's awake I see." That was it! I sat up quickly, immediately regretting the jarring of my arm, which was once again sent ablaze in pain. I shook it off quickly though and looked up to see Miley walk in, Sute riding on her hip.

"That's the voice!" I pointed at her suddenly with my arm that was not currently tied up in a sling. "It's British!"

Miley, Kili, and Sute all looked at me strangely. "What?" Miley asked with a nervous laugh.

"Your voice is British!" I repeated, still processing my newest discovery.

"…Yes?" She laughed again, coming over to sit on the bed by my feet. "I've always had a British accent. Did you forget?"

"No, but the… I mean the voice in the…" My words escaped from me as Sute crawled painfully over my legs to get to Kili, saying 'Up up' to get him to set the mug and parchment down and pull her into his lap.

"Well didn't you get big! What are those elves feeding you?" I forced myself to relax again into the bed. It wasn't that big of a deal. Lots of people in this world seemed to have British accents. Still, why did Miley's voice strike a cord like that?

"Not the hair. Not the hair!" I looked up to watch Kili attempt to rescue a tangle of his hair from Suteís tight fist.

"I think she wants you to look more like Dwalin." I scoffed, smirking at Kili's futile efforts.

"Who?" Miley asked absentmindedly, before frowning at Kili and Sute. They were both siting very still, almost frozen, staring at each other.

"You two okay?" I asked hesitantly.

Kili moved his gaze from Sute to the hand he had just used to try and rescue his hair. He was silent for a long moment before his words came out in an incoherent mumble. "That… she…"

"Kili?" I sat up again, tense as a bowstring. He looked pale as a ghost.

He swallowed and glanced over at Miley briefly. "Sute is… right handed, isn't she?"

Miley's brow lowered. "It's a bit to early to say for sure, but she tends to use her right arm more. Why?"

"She grabbed my hair with her left hand." Kili frowned.

"Wow, she can use both hands like a normal person how fascinating." I said in monotone, my silent freaking out at Kili's strange behavior still unable to stop my knee jerk reaction of sarcasm. "Really though, what are you trying to get at Kili?"

Sute finally moved, pointing at Kili and speaking, very loudly. "Prince."

Everyone stared at her, blinking. Then Miley and I burst into laughter. Kili was glaring daggers at us, but it was hilarious! Such a little girl… with the… It didn't look like I was going to be calming down anytime soon.

"Will you both pull it together?" Kili snapped. "I'm trying to tell you, when Sute and I touched, it felt like we established the connection that Nimm and I have!"

"…Hm?"

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**Well... this development happened sooner than I expected but oh well. No point dragging it out unnecessarily, right?**


	64. Chapter 64: Moving Out

**New Chapter, as promised!**

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_I was not sure how to respond. Between my own shock, Nimm's face, and the present nauseous feeling that had once again returned that was unfortunately becoming the norm for me, I elected to sit in silence and let the other two sort this out._

_"__The connection you and I have? Like… the whole One thing? What are you saying?" Nimm asked in a manner that made it obvious she hadn't exactly grasped the concept yet._

_"__That's exactly what I'm saying." Kili frowned._

_"__But… can a person have more than one One… like… that kinda sounds a bit contradictory, don't you think?" Nimm laughed, though it sounded forced._

_"__Aren't you being a little dense?" I asked hesitantly, pulling Sute onto my lap hesitantly._

_"__There's no way that mini-shrunk potato could be me." Nimm shook her head._

_"__Well there's one way to find out." Kili sighed, leaning over and giving Sute a quick pinch on the arm. I shouted in alarm, pulling Sute away as soon as I caught on, but it was too late. The toddler was already crying. I hugged her, rocking her gently as I gave Kili the glare of death. He didn't notice._

_"__I felt that." Kili looked at Nimm meaningful waiting for her response._

_"__So did I…" Nimm scowled._

_"__Well that settles that then. Sute isn't Sute at all, it would seem." Kili sat back, rather impressed with his deductive reasoning. I simply wondered if it was fate how similar Sute was to Sue._

_"__Why… would the sorceress want the younger version of me captive?" Nimm wondered aloud. "…M!" She jumped out of the bed pausing a moment to hiss in pain as she jarred the arm currently in a sling. Kili was up almost as quickly, steadying her. "I saw M in my dream. She and Rina were captured by orcs!"_

_"__What?" I asked in alarm._

_"__It was like my other dream with the Sorceress. But that was in the past. I think the dragon's been long dead by this point."_

_"__M and Rina have been captured? Where? How long ago? Nimm we need to go sa-"_

_"__I know! I know, just let me think for a moment." Nimm stared blankly at the ground, trying to remember her dream apparently. "It was dark, so hard to tell. But the cage was resting on dirt and leaves. I think they're still in the forest. But far enough away that I can't feel M's pain."_

_"__Well, that only narrows it down to about… oh I don't know, most of the forest." Kili rolled his eyes. Nimm punched his shoulder with her good arm and brushed past towards the door. _

_"__They won't be staying in one place for long. We need to move quickly."_

_"__Your in no condition to go anywhere." Kili followed her._

_"__Evil isn't going to just sit around and wait for me to get better Kili! If I need to push myself…" and they were out of earshot. I sat in the silence for a moment before sighing and looking down at Sute who had stopped crying and was playing with the edge of my sleeve with fascination. And somewhere in my belly was the tiny little orc child. The thought gave me a strange spread of emotions. Fear, anger, excitement, joy? I had made up my mind to have the child, but my mind could not help but wonder if it was the best decision. Would I ever bring myself to love the child? And even if I could, others definitely wouldn't. Its mere existence would condemn it to a life of persecution and discrimination. And that would be in this world. In the real world it would have no chance at all. It wouldn't be even human. _

_Sute squirmed to be let down and walk around. She was getting quite good at it, almost reached jogging earlier that morning. I let the child slip off my lap. She touched down to the ground and went sprinting off out the door. When had she learned to do that? Just a few minutes ago she had fallen from toddling around, now she was confidently running? It just didn't add up. And was her hair always that long? _

_I followed her out the door, having to run a little myself to catch up with her. Obviously there was something more going on here than it seemed._

"What do you mean I can't go?" I stared at Thorin and Thranduil incredulously.

"You are in no condition to go prancing through unfamiliar woods on a wild goose chase." Thorin said with barely held patience.

Thranduil tried to calm me rather expressionlessly. "Lady Nimm, I have more than enough elves, who were born and raised in these woods, that can seek out the captured persons."

"But I might recognize the smell of the area or something, or-" I shut up at their faces and looked to Kili for support. He shrugged. Some help he is.

"Besides, if your feeling well enough to go hiking through a spider infested forest, then you'll have recovered enough for us to move out." Thorin turned back to the maps of the table. "Kili, did you look over the report?"

"I did uncle." His nephew nodded, walking over to stand next to him. "It would seem the Sorceress has indeed mad the mountain her stronghold. And if Nimm's dream is in fact true, then they have not only the protection of one of the greatest dwarven kingdoms, but they also have a dragon."

Thorin hummed in thought. "Yes as I suspected. Lord Thranduil, I suspect your plan will be required." The elven king nodded in slow sophistication. Thorin patted Kili on the shoulder. "Gather Miley and your sister, we will be leaving as soon as we can."

"Leaving? Where to?" I asked, feeling annoyingly out of the loop. Kili grabbed my hand as he passed, pulling me with him.

He gave me a lopsided smile. "We're going to Laketown."

"Laketown? Where and what is that? Besides a town, obviously." I picked up my pace a little so I was walking next to Kili instead of behind him.

"It's a human settlement. They're remnants of Dale and other northern kingdoms now past. It used to be a center of trade, but apparently there's not much left of its glory. The dragon's reign certainly didn't help. Very few merchants are willing to do business so close to the mountain since Smaug came."

"So… I'm not saying I'm stupid… but all I got out of that was we're headed to a human place near the mountain."

"That's the important part." Kili nodded as we walked down the corridor.

"Great. Good to know elf drugs haven't made me completely brain-dead." I sighed. I yelped a little in alarm as Kili pulled me quickly around a corner and kissed me. I stared at him blankly for a moment as he drew back, scratching his neck in embarrassment.

"We'll be hitting the road again soon… time and privacy won't be so abundant so, well I though, you know…"

I gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "I hear you. Let's put our all into fighting this bitch and restoring order to the world and all that jazz, and afterwards we'll find all the privacy we want."

"Right." We shared a smile. "Let's go find the other two. Thorin is getting anxious about how Durin's Day is drawing near."

"What are we waiting for then?" I grinned. "We have a lake place to get to."


	65. Chapter 65: Poems in a Cart

**Hello again faithful reader. First, an apology, I meant to post a chapter last week, but craziness ensued and I barely managed to get this chapter out. **

**Which leads me to my second apology. This chapter is mostly filler. Multi-purposing school assignments is the only reason this chapter exists, so please bear with me.**

**Next week I'll have an actual chapter for you!**

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**The Soliloquy of Mary Sue**

I to you, you do not know,

But you to I is plain.

Page to page of book I go,

Take with me only pain.

Now friend and I gone must be

To place I know not where,

Many are the sights to see

Adventures we must bear.

We meet the company of

Oakenshield and his dwarves.

I think I found my true love

Myself he but ignores.

Pines after my friend instead

Sour grapes probably

Acts like he's sick in the head

Not that I act so nobly.

Hate all these men don't trust them

We're outnumbered it's bad

Miley's being a real gem

While I'm acting all mad.

Ghost knows me better than I

Try to run from myself

Would be better just to die

Awake in home itself.

Trolls, Fires, Wargs and Orcs;

They all try to kill me

I try to survive their barks,

Left alone, my friends flee.

Cannot give up, not quite yet

Need to tell him sorry

Through tears, dirt, blood, and sweat

And vision that's all starry.

Safety, reached at last, relief

Found him, apologize

I should, my time might be brief

Missed him more I realize.

Things are not what they should be

Miley is going wack

When we try to run and flee

The elves launch their attack.

An arrow shot in the dark

Trip as fate would have it,

Fate wills it to hit it's mark

Death doesn't seem to fit.

I awake in my own dorm

My friend no where around

I'll take this dumb book my storm

Or burn it to the ground.

**The Soliloquy of Nimm Nita**

Let's nip this uprising in the bud.

Hope this idea ain't another dud.

Got a friend to save

And if my heart will behave

Maybe we can forgo all the blood.

Taking charge like the boss that I am.

All seems to be going well, then BAM!

They learn the truth now

Got to get their trust back, how?

We fight and scream, all hope is lost. Damn.

Got no choice they're stuck with me

Save them from trolls. You're welcome. Gee

No need for thanks guys,

Victory is it's own prize.

Wargs, Orcs, elves, will I ever be free?

Seems everyone hates me whoopdeedoo.

No one likes me, and that much I knew.

Kili tries being nice,

Treat him with a heart of ice.

Compromised messages number two.

Swearing, Running, Fighting, Miley's gone.

Fili's hurt, won't awake till the dawn.

Ori, M, Rina

Dies before the arena.

Rina's swears of vengeance ringing on.

My quill hovered over the parchment, feathered tip in my mouth as I considered the next verse. I came to realize two things. One: I wasn't much of a poet. Two: these rhymes were things I was taking to the grave.

"She's been very quiet." I heard from further in the cart. I myself was siting on the very edge so I could watch the worn path pass underneath my feet between verses. But the voices of the others brought me around just as Kili's face appeared at the edge of my vision. "What are you writing?" He asked as I simultaneously flicked the pages away from him so he couldn't see.

"Nothing, why?" I knew I had answered far too quickly to fool anyone.

Kili knew it too. "Come on, let me see them." He made a grab for them but I strained to hold them out of his reach before ripping them into a few pieces and tossing them into the path, leaving them in the cart's dust. "Aw, what did you do that for?" Kili frowned, watching the paper shrink into the distance under the bright midday sun.

"They weren't any good." I shrugged, swinging my legs back safely into the cart. The wood was too hot to lean back against on my side, so I flopped against Kili's shoulder instead, watching the trees pass us by.

"How far away is this Laketown place anyway?" I ask whoever's listening.

"A little more than a day's journey at this pace." Fili answered from where she was lying in the bottom of the cart, Sute in the process of climbing over her face form the sound of it. "It would've been faster if we didn't need this stupid cart, but you just had to go and get your bloody arm chopped off, didn't you."

"Oh shut up." I rolled my eyes. Her comment briefly diverted my attention back to the hot itchy cast that my arm still remained in. I couldn't wait until this thing was off and I could more around normally.

"Don't worry about it Nimm." Miley said sounding very relaxed from the shady portion of the cart. "I don't mind not having to sit in a hard saddle all day."

I looked back at her and Fili nestled snuggly amongst the provisions the elves had given us. Thorin sat up in the front with the elven guide. It felt weird with just the three princes and Miley. Apparently, M brought more to the group then I gave her credit for.

Though there was still an itching at the back of my mind. Like there had been more dwarves than this…

I yelped as my headrest slipped away and I fell back onto hard wood. Kili had leapt off the cart to pick up something before jogging to catch up and hop back onto the edge next to me. He dropped a small pile of rocks next to him of different sizes and tossed one in his hand.

"But you I can hit that stump." He smirked. I looked around for a moment before spying the dead tree in question. It was a decent way back, partially hidden by rock.

"No way." I scoffed. He just looked at me for a moment, then hurled the stone through the air like a gunshot.

There was a satisfying thunk to be heard but I shrugged anyway. "It's to far away to tell if it hit. Pick something else."

"How about that bent tree coming up?"

"Oh please, even _I_ could hit that."

"You couldn't hit a warg if it were growling in your face."

"Wanna bet?"

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**Anyway, how many people are still reading this? I'm sure the recent dry up of interesting material doesn't help, but I just wanted to know if this story is still any good.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	66. Chapter 66: The Fish Capital

**Yayyyyyy an actual chapter for once! Kind of short... BUT SCHOOL and... stuff :|**

**Thanks for all the reviews last chapter you guys are the BEST.**

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The open cart rolled slowly over the wooden bridge that spanned over long lake, connecting the shore to settlement of Laketown. My head jerked violently as wheels rolled over uneven planks. It did not stop me from keeping my eyes trained on the rickety buildings that grew around me. There was something vaguely ominous about the misty town. And the chill in the air reminded me of the undead in the Abhorsen books. It tickled along your spine and set your teeth ever so slightly on edge.

"Not a very pleasant place, now is it?" Miley asked hesitantly from the other side of the cart. I met the suspicious glances of the people that filled the narrow streets and windows.

"No, not really." I replied.

"Welcome to the world of men." Thorin growled from the front. I was about to retort that not all of us were like this, then I thought of the cities back on earth, the pollution and grime that filled the land. My mouth shut itself.

"Hopefully we'll find what we need quickly so we can leave." Fili said tensely from her seat on the rope coil. Kili grumbled in agreement. This place was in no way pleasant.

The guard at his post was trouble as usual, but after some elven persuasion from our guide/driver, we were let through, the cart left outside the gates, which we decided unanimously would be safer than anywhere inside the town. Not to mention, the walkways weren't exactly cart friendly.

Poorly outfitted guards in funny hats escorted us through the "streets" as they called them. They were hardly better than the railings in Goblin town. And at least there, the citizens were lively. Here, you were just met with cold, lifeless stares. Starving and hopeless. I could already see Miley breaking down at the sight of them. But to my surprise, she refrained from going on and on about how we had to help these poor people and bring justice to the world. Instead, she just held Sute tighter and kept her head down.

By the time we reached the large house in the middle of town, I felt as bleak as the town looked.

One of the guards hurried into the building, disappearing behind the closed door. A considerable time later, the door reopened and a large greasy balding man came out through the door. And if I had learned anything from the boring lessons back in high school about Chaucer's tales, this man was bad news. He was followed by to others. One a short, weasely man with the largest brow ever. The other, though it took me a moment to recognize him, made me swear violently under my breath. It was then that I thoroughly regretted leaving my hood and mask behind.

"What is the meaning of this?" The greasy leader demanded, looking down his long nose at us.

"I am Thorin, King under the Mountain." Thorin began grandly. "My kin and I have traveled far to-"

"Mary?" I cursed once more and forced myself to look the third man in the eye. He was a taller fellow, his dirty blonde hair now shoulder length, a contrast from the shortness I had once been familiar with. He had the same stunning smile as ever. "Is it really you? What are you doing here?" the young man descended the steps quickly to talk face to face… or face to stomach as it were.

"I could ask you the same thing." I raised an eyebrow at him challengingly.

"Well it doesn't matter. Do you know how to get home? Iíve been stuck here for months, I don't even know how I got to this place!"

"There's time for that la-"

"You know this person?" Thorin cut me off.

"I… did." My answer was slow and reluctant.

"My apologies, King… Thorin, you said?" the man bowed slightly. "I am Jordan Haller, Assistant Advisor here at Lake town."

"Assistant _to_ the Advisor!" the man in black corrected as if it had been the millionth time he had said it.

"Right," Jordan brushed him off, "I am Mary's-"

"Ex." I finished quickly, trying to get it over with as quickly as I could.

"An x?" Fili repeated in confusion.

"They were at one time courting." Miley translated awkwardly. I knew Kili had been wary of the man before and his unexplained familiarity with me, but now he was really on edge. I could see him out of the corner of my eye, puffing himself up to try to look as intimidating as he could. It had rather the opposite effect unfortunately.

I don't know whether it was to prevent an almost assured conflict, or for my own comfort, but I casually shifted closer to Kili and interlaced my fingers between his.

"Well." I smiled awkwardly. "It's been nice seeing you again. Woo. Shall we get back to the matter at hand?" I asked Thorin, shooting a pleading glance his way that I'm sure everyone saw.

"Friends of Jordan? And elves as well…" The greasy man darted his beady eyes around calculatedly. "I'm sure your business is well worth hearing out." He decided finally. "Come, let us discuss it over a glass or two of wine, shall we? No need to stand at attention, welcome, welcome!"

Our small band was led inside and discussions began. I zoned out at the very beginning as Thorin began discussing his plan that he and the Elven King had been working on for weeks. I was only vaguely aware that the Master of Laketown seemed to be paying as much attention as I was, mostly focused on the crimson liquid in his glass. His assistant, Alfred, and Jordan were listening the most. I had a feeling that they held most of the power in this town whether they knew it or not. The probably did.

I glanced over at Miley who was looking as though she felt very vulnerable even in her boring practical brown robes that made her look like an abbot with a ponytail. Kili had managed to stop glaring at Jordan long enough to pay attention to Thorin and fill in some details in the plan when the need arose. Fili was silently observing.

Why _was_ Jordan here? I didn't think anyone had the ability but myself. So unless M made it back to earth and felt like playing a prank on herself out of boredom, there were no possible explanations. Besides, I didn't think I hated myself _that_ much. Dropping your own ex on yourself like that is just plain evil. Honestly, that dude was one mistake I did not want to dredge up again. But there he was, thoroughly dredged.

Ah geez, Kili was going to want to have a "talk" about this later, wasn't he? That will be loads of fun.

The wine was awful. I took one sip out of politeness and let it be. Miley, of course, refused to even touch hers. With the baby and all. Like a little wine will really effect how jacked up a half orc baby is gonna turn out.

Thorin fell silent as he finished his pitch. It took the master a moment to realize this, but once he did, he looked to his advisors who kind of shrugged and nodded.

"Splendid!" The master exclaimed. "And once we work out the details of splitting up the wealth, we can begin preparations. A toast!" He raised his glass, as other reluctantly did the same. "To the prosperity of our people!"

"To prosperity." We all repeated with varying degrees of enthusiasm.

This was going swimmingly.

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**Why must I write myself into these predictably boring melodramatic situations? Aughhhh *bangs head against the desk repeatedly***

**Any suggestions? I definitely need them.**


	67. Chapter 67: A Journey to the Past

**Hooray for flashback sequences! For the most part this is just delving more into M's character I guess(though I sneaked in some foreshadowing so mwhahaha) **

**Not my best work but hey! It's almost 2500 words long! That's pretty good, I might be getting my grove back. Hope you enjoy. (I tried to make it funny idk)**

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"I'm just saying, I don't see the point of it all." My friend's voice traveled over the other side of the phone. "The two of you don't even seem to like each other _and_ he's moving at the end of the year."

"So? It's not like I'm looking for a long term thing anyway. God Terra your so stupid." I flung my legs over the arm of the couch, looking at the plain white ceiling of my room. I had been meaning to paint it for ages. "What do you mean?" I responded to the further confusion she voiced. "I'm planning on dumping him of course. He's a total dork anyway."

"Then why are you even bothering. I just don't get you Suzy. No way in hell am I gonna even figure you out."

"Well duh." I rolled my eyes. "Listen, he's a giant walking teddy bear with an open wallet. And since he's desperate enough to actually do what I say, then I don't see what all the fuss is about!" I raised my voice at the end as Terra started interrupting me.

"Omg, I've told you again and again, you sound like one of those sluts on tv dramas when you talk that way! Can you at least try to act human?"

"Screw you! I do what I want." I snapped.

"My god you're so thick."

"You hear that banging against the receiver? That's my middle finger."

"Oh whatever."

"Okay, gotta go. I've got a date with Louie in ten. See you in school loser."

"Cya." The phone line went flat and after a moment of listening to the white noise, I dropped it back into place to 'hang up'. The silence of my room was deafening. A sound I would remember for years to come.

At last, my dad's voice drifted in from the living room. "You ready to go champ? Appointment's in five."

"I know!" I yelled back in exasperation. Like I was really going on a date with 'Louie'. The fictional boyfriend I conjured up to seem cooler in front of my friends. It worked like a charm. As long as I just dodged enough questions and made excuses for any lack of photo's they didn't doubt a thing. I always thought of myself as a good liar.

"Mary Sue?" My dad called again. "We gotta head out or we're going to be late again!"

"I KNOW!" I got up off the beaten up couch in my room and shoved my feet in the pair of sandals strewn on the floor. My eyes flitted once to the small stack of books on the floor, tucked away in a corner. I could escape right now. Screw these stupid sessions and have some fun for once.

But I knew I couldn't. Not right now. Drat it all.

I shoved my hands in my pockets and left the safety of my room, meeting my dad at the door. He held all the awkwardness of a middle aged man living alone in small apartment with his angsty teenage daughter. You could tell his whole situation from a mile away. At least when he was around me. Every once in awhile I would catch a glimpse of someone I could actually respect. But it was few and far between.

The car ride was silent as usual until I turned on the radio and jammed out to the music in thought alone. I watched the familiar scenery pass by as I was carried closer to the familiarly short building on the outskirts of town. It was a boring brick building with nothing interesting about it, inside or out. The car stopped outside the dull glass double doors.

"Okay, here we are champ. Have fun!" My dad's hollow encouragement replaced the radio's music. A most unwelcome change.

"Fun?" I gave him a face. He awkwardly smiled back in his very single-dad-with-highschool-daughter manner. I rolled my eyes and got out of the car, immediately shoving my hands in my pockets and kicking the door shut as I walked away from it.

The conclusion I had later come to, was that I was trying to look tough to hide my insecurities. An act that continued for almost as long as I can remember, and I haven't really stopped.

The waiting room was quiet and dull. I hated it, along with everything else about the place. At least until a cute boy walked in.

He was tall. Most of them were recently, having finally hit their growth spurts. Not that I was taller than them before. And he was blonde. Probably had blue eyes too, just for the sake of cliche's. I didn't really care if he saw me staring. At least it was better than reading those boring posters for the millionth time.

The boy looked over at me about three times before he caught on that I wasn't really looking at anything else. And, to my surprise, instead of telling me to piss off or something he came over at sat in the chair diagonal to mine, an uneasy smile on his face. I guess that made sense, I was a random girl siting in a Psychology Clinic.

"Hey." He greeted me after a moment.

"Hey." I repeated, returning the smile half heartedly. We stared at each other for a moment before he leaned back in his seat and looked around at the walls.

"Kinda boring isn't it? This is my first time coming here, you?" He tried making conversation.

"Boring as hell." I scoffed. "And four years, but who's counting." The boy nodded, unsure how to respond. "They think I'm crazy." I elaborated, settling more into my seat to show that I did _not_ think I was crazy.

"Adults." He laughed.

"I know right?"

"The names Jordan." He offered his hand to shake it. I eyed it for a moment before retrieving my hand from my pocket and briefly shaking his. I returned into the the clothy depths as soon as I could.

"Mary Sue. Not that anyone actually calls me that." I introduced myself.

"It's a nice name." Jordan laughed.

"Yeah if your from the 60's." I snorted. Jordan opened his mouth to make another attempt at small talk when the door opened and the resident Psychologist opened the door, the ever dreaded clip board under one arm.

"You ready Mary?" She smiled at me. I glared back at Dr. Tunner. Refusing to respond, I got up and followed her into the cozy room. Another place I hated.

There were three cushy chairs sitting around a coffee table. Half closed blinders slanted across the window, casting linear shadows throughout the room. Yes I knew this place well.

"You got a new plant." I commented, noticing the fern that used to be sitting on the coffee table now held a small sampling of succulent plants. "Did the other one die of boredom or did you just forget to water it?"

"The last one met an untimely end with the floor." Dr. Tunner answered smoothly, siting down in one chair and waiting for me to do the same.

That was one of the reasons I didn't like her, nothing could faze the lady, and it annoyed me. Just to spite her, I sat in a chair upside down so my feet were draped over the top and my head was hanging towards the floor, staring at the carpet.

"How have you been Mary?" Dr. Tunner asked pleasantly. "Or is there a different name I should be addressing you by now?"

I gave her a scathing look. "It's still Mary."

"Well, consistency isn't always a bad thing." She was annoying me and the blood was all rushing to my head. I sat up so my ears would stop buzzing.

"Now I think I'll go with Sue. Thanks for your opinion."

She ignored me. "So, have you been on any more of your... travels lately?" She purposely put pause before the word. She knew she did it. She knew I knew she knew.

"Yeah, I went to a magical land of unicorns and corn eating unicycles. There I met a two-shelled tortoise and we took turns riding down the rainbowcandyfall that runs into the pink and blue lagoon." I stared at her with an expression of utter boredom to drive the point across.

"Your descriptions are always amusing." Dr. Tunner commented, flipping through her papers.

"Gee, Glad to be of assistance. I don't know what I would do with my life If I didn't get the opportunity to amuse your for an hour once a month. Oh, wait I know, I'd go have _fun_ like any _normal_ girl would do. But no, I get to spend my life siting in a boring office that smells like applespice perfume and talk about nonsense with an old witch while trying not to gag and pass out." I smiled sweetly.

"You know these sessions are good for you Mary, you've made a lot of progress since we first started these little talks."

"Yeah, I went from silence to sarcasm, big woop. Can I go now? I've got boyfriends to lie about."

"Your school marked you as absent in all your classes during the second week of September. Care to tell me where you went?" Dr. Tunner asked as if she were actually interested.

"Or where I 'think' I went, since it's impossible to go into books no matter what I say." I corrected her, not falling into her trap where she pretends to believe me for once.

"Well, which book was it this week?" Dr. Turner ignored me.

I stared at her with contempt before rolling my eyes and starting to speak. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." I glared at her even more, daring her to say something.

"Did you like it?" She asked neutrally.

"No." I made a face. "It totally sucked. Either the four of us were siting around in tents being bored out of our minds and cranky as hell, or we were almost dying from something stupid. There was no in between... like... at all."

"And when you say the four..."

"Harry, Ron, Hermione, and myself. Obviously." I rolled my eyes.

"Of course." She just nodded, scribbling quietly on her board. "Did anything happen to you personally?"

I didn't respond to this question and instead decided to rabbit trail. "Someone stole the elderwand near the end." This got her mind off it. "Finally got to Hogwarts and Harry and Voldemort were about to get into this epic show down, turns out the dark lord misplaced his pistol and bam! Dead." I emphasized with hand motions. "No one has any clue who took it, but McGonagall thought it was probably for the best so everyone just forgot about it. I don't know... still seems a little weird to me."

"Interesting." Dr Tunner nodded.

"Ain't it? I'm not sure what happened. I assume that doesn't actually happen in the original print. The book was generally pretty serious for such a big let down like that."

"Did you get any more scars?"

Damn it I thought I had distracted her from that. 'Scars' were what she used as a term for any traumatic experience that I might have gone through during the book. They could be physical or mental, not that it really mattered. I looked just the same as before when I came back.

"...yeah." I shrugged. "A few, no big deal."

"If it's not too painful, could you tell me about them?" Dr. Tunner requested innocently. I took a deep breath, burying my face in my hands. "If you don't want to, that's fine, but I urge you to try. It's an important part of moving on." I let my hands drop away as my foot began tapping anxiously. "Take your time."

I sat in the chair, bobbing to the pace of my frantic heart. "Nope." I said at last. "I can't talk about it, okay?"

"That's fine."

"I can't just go around telling anybody about my lowest points, when they think it didn't even happen. I know your just trying to do your 'job' and all, but that doesn't give you a right to ask me to describe such personal events! You know what? You know what I should do? I should take your-"

"Mary, I said it's fine." Dr. Tunner interrupted firmly. I flopped back into my chair. I had gotten all worked up over nothing again. Great going idiot.

We sat in silence for a while. I chewed on my tongue out of agitation, stopping only once I started tasting blood. I breathed through my nose for a long time. Not that I didn't always do that, but for this moment I was actually focusing on it. Then took a deep breath and started talking. "I got one of those scarring curse thingys along my jawline. I was a mudblood so..." I shrugged, fighting down the misty sight forming in my eyes. "It hurt... a lot."

"Did you feel like you were the victim because of this?"

"Well, yeah." I laughed at the obviousness of the question, quickly shoving a few escapees off my face. "It wasn't my fault for being that way. Bellatrix is just a bitch."

"Did it hurt your feelings?"

"No, tha...that would be stupid. She was a bad guy. She was just doing what she knows."

"And because she's a bad guy she can do what she wants?"

"Hell no. She got her just deserts in the end, I'm just saying why would her actions hurt _my_ feelings? I didn't know her. She was just being evil."

"Then why did you bring it up?"

"B-because you asked me about scars." I replied, a little angrily. "And that was one that was not going to be fading any time soon, I can tell you that."

"Are there any scars you brought back with you?" Dr. Tunner asked, hinting specifically for the emotional scars.

"I bring back all my scars with me." I corrected her. "Every single one whether they hurt me emotionally or not."

"Could it be your clinging to past?"

"Duh. That's what people do."

That's what people do.

The phrase became my excuse for all my bad behaviors later in life. To rationalize it to yourself by acting like it is a common flaw, therefore just part of the norm. Deluding yourself to make your feel better about yourself.

That's what people do.

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**Hopefully this flashback only lasts a chapter or two more so we can get on with the story. But I was having fun with this so I just let it run and see where it ended.**

**I'd love to hear your thoughts on it, it's kind of different from what I usually write. I'm almost strictly fantasy and this was... kind of not?**

**Thanks for reading!**


	68. Chapter 68: And Back to the Present

**I haven't written a chapter for this in too long!**

**Ugh school is been a pain. But I finally got around to it! Watching botfa extended addition tomorrow! Super excited XD**

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I pulled the worn scarf higher over my face. To block out the smell as much as anything. The whole of Lake Town smelled of fish and filth. Elves might be stingy but at least they had hygiene. And the dwarves I had been around long enough to be used to their stench at any rate.

Miley walked in front of the four of us, Fili behind her and Kili and I bringing up the rear. Apparently, at one point or another, Miley had some input on the plan at hand and now was her time to act upon it.

However, her search for this man 'Bard' was a troublesome business. For being such a small town, there were a whole lot of people. A lot of poor people. The Master seemed to be doing well enough for himself, but apparently, the town's people weren't worth spreading the wealth around for. Greedy pig.

"This will change once Erebor is reclaimed." Kili muttered from beside me. It sounded almost like an oath to himself and I nodded in acknowledgement of it.

"Towns like these thrive off trade." Fili said from in front of us. "With the dragon dwelling so close, they've nothing to thrive off of. Elven trade, and only barely."

"Well the sooner we can find Bard the better we'll all be." Miley called from a bit farther ahead. "So pick up the pace, will you?"

"We should have split up." I replied a bit snappishly. "There's too much area to cover." I could immediately see Miley tense up at the suggestion of splitting.

"There's no need for that." Her tense voice replied. "With four of us, we'll be less likely to miss him."

"Miss him? How can we not?" I scoffed. "You're the only one who knows what he looks like!"

"Well actually... I'm not quite sure what he looks like."

"What?"

"It doesn't go in to much detail generally, okay? Besides, the dwarves are nothing like what I expected so you can never tell."

I rolled my eyes and groaned. "This is never going to work. Why not just ask Grease face and his posse? They must have some record of where everyone lives."

"I have been asking people you know." Miley snapped back, pretty fed up with my negativity by this point. "I'm not enough of an idiot to go walking around blindly."

"Well…" I paused, thinking of a retort, then stopped. This was pointless. "Well good. Fine." We continued weaving our way through the crowd in silence for a moment before I felt compelled to open my mouth again. "Do you really think Thorin will be alright watching Sute for this long?"

"He's done his fair share of child watching." Fili chuckled. "He'll be fine."

"Honestly I cannot picture that at all." I snorted.

"He puts up a brave front, but Thorin knows when loosen his guard." The blonde dwarf assured me, a fond smile slipping over her face.

"Never loosened it around us." Kili commented, rather grimly I thought.

"Only cause he knew the havoc that would ensue if he did." Fili replied, a mischievous look in her eye.

"What's that…" Something caught my attention and I stopped, peering down into a dark abandoned alleyway. There, at the end of the alley, embedded in the wooden wall, was a crack. It looked so familiar yet… Then it started glowing. Very faintly at first, but the longer I watched the more I was sure, there was a white light peeking in from the other side. My feet started traveling before I knew it, and I was halfway down the alley, drawing steadily closer to the strange crack. A bowing shape, both ends towards the ground so that the highest point was roughly in the middle. My hand reached out to run along it's surface-

"Nimm!" I looked up in surprise. Kili was standing at the other end of an alley looking at me questioningly. "What are you doing?"

I looked around, trying to figure out the very same thing. "I thought I saw something down here." I looked around at the dark alley, a sense of confusion lingering about me.

"What was it?" Kili was walking to me, seeing as my feet seemed rooted to the spot. He was looking around same as I was.

"I'm not sure. It was probably nothing."

Kili stopped next to me and peered at my face. "Are you sure?"

"No…" My eyes went out of focus so I stood there for a moment staring at nothing.

"Because I've been feeling the same way for a while now." Kili glanced around distrustfully. "Like there's something at the tip of my mind that I just can't remember."

"De javu." I mumbled.

"What?"

My sight snapped back into focus and I looked back at Kili. "I felt like we had said this before. It's odd. Maybe the fish air is getting to me. Come on," I started back up the alley. "We should catch up with the others." Kili followed silently. Neither of us thought for one second that it was the fish.

"Where were you two?" Fili asked as we rejoined her and Miley.

"I thought I saw something." I said evasively. "What are we waiting for? We've got a minstrel to find."

"You know that's his name, not his title." Miley rolled her eyes.

"Sure, sure, let's go then." I waved my hands that she should keep going. Begrudgingly, she complied.

"Bard? Sure I know of em, what do you want with the man?" The old woman asked, giving us a skeptical eye.

"We require his services for a matter I do not wish to discuss." Miley said curtly. "So if you could kindly point us in the right direction, that would be most kindly appreciated."

"He lives in the house down in the eastern district in the house kind of separate from the others. But what you could possibly want with a bargeman is beyond me." The woman scoffed.

"Thank you for your time." Miley said, turning away to follow where the old woman had pointed.

"Now don't you go botherin him, you hear? Poor man has enough trouble with the master breathin down his neck without you lot naggin after him!" None of us replied to that, but Kili and I shared a glance. If this bard fellow and the master were on bad terms, that could make things very difficult for us.

"Miley, are you sure this guy is even important?" I questioned aloud.

"Yes." She said confidently. "In the bo-prophesy he is the one who kills Smaug. Some things can be changed, but the likely hood that he will succeed is greater than any of us, so he is our best chance at defeating that dragon."

"Yeah but that was back when the dragon was still _alive_." I reminded her.

"It doesn't mean much." Miley shrugged. "I think that's his house over there, the brown one."

"There all brown." Fili frowned.

"That one!" Miley pointed. She was rather cranky today. Probably lack of sleep. The red haired girl had been so tense since we arrived; I was surprised she was even functioning.

Upon closer inspection, the house was a little better kept then the others we had passed by on the way here. There was faint detailing in the walls, which provided a little more style to the place. The stairs still creaked loudly as we walked up them to the door.

Two fishermen watched us keenly as Miley knocked on the door. There was silence at first, and then a young woman's face appeared in the window on the other side. A few moments later the door opened a few inches.

"Can I help you?" the woman asked, a slightly Irish accent could be heard.

"We're looking for a man named Bard." Miley smiled reassuringly. "Does he live here?"

The young woman gave us a wary look "Da's out right now." She told us, not opening the door any wider. "Won't be back till later."

"Do you know when we can expect him to be back?" Miley pressed further.

"Why?" this was going great.

"Because we need him to kill a dragon for us." I snapped. "Now could you please just cooperate for one moment without questioning everything?" The girl looked me over for a moment before slamming the door in our face. The other three turned to me.

"Great job." Fili said sarcastically. "I forgot how charming you could be." I sneered back but didn't say anything. I had royally screwed that up, as usual.

"So do we just wait here until he comes back?" Kili frowned.

"That's not the best way to get him to like us." Miley shook her head. "Best we come back later. Let's head back for now."

"And maybe," Fili glared at me, "_you_ should stay behind next time." Oh fun. Staying for hours with Lord Grumpy Pants and Mini Me. That's gonna go well.

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**Well, I know I have no right to ask for this cause I haven't written in ages, but reviews are _always_ appreciated! So if you have a moment, drop me a line or two. Tell me what you want more of, or if It's getting boring or anything. Feedback is important!**


	69. Chapter 69: Left Out

**The undead author has returned from the grave in an attempt to finish this darn story. Sorry its been so long. I'll try to get back on schedule. Been very busy lately, but it's no excuse. I really want this story to reach a conclusion! I got it all planned out and everything. So as a reward I'm giving you another chapter very very soon! Two chapters almost at once! what a treat! **

**Hope you enjoy this one, it may be a bit confusing, but like always, it will be explained later... hopefully... XD**

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"Where were you all morning?" I turned quickly to see Jordan at the other end of the hall.

"Going for a walk about town. Just the four of us." I knew my answer was clearly uneasy, but that was unavoidable in the situation.

"A long walk. And they've gone out again." He drew closer, nonchalantly.

"Well I suspect you already know where they've gone, haven't you?"

"What interest do the four of you have with Bard?" I stared back at Jordan, meeting his gaze.

"Why so serious J?" I smirked.

"Don't call me that."

"Looks like he's back, I see." I took a step backwards, the floorboards of the old house creaking beneath me.

"Answer the question."

"And if I refuse?"

"You know better than to anger me." The threat rang clear before disappearing into the silence.

"…I suppose I do." I shrugged in response. "Bard is necessary to our cause. What of it?"

"He is a trouble maker." Jordan spat, turning away. "Been a thorn in my side ever since I got to this wretched place."

"Why? What has he done?"

"Stirred up dissent among the people. They're living in a crap hole, but there's nothing that can be done about it. There's no point in bring it to light." I watched Jordan pace back and forth, hid face twisted in anger.

"Do you need to calm down?" I asked.

He rounded on me. "Do NOT tell me to calm down!" I could feel the sweat forming on my brow as he stalked forward, stopping a breath away from me. "I'm what kept us alive all this while. Without me, we'd be dead. You tricks wont WORK on me anymore, so don't waste your breath."

I swallowed, but refused to waver. "Take a walk Jordan. Cool off."

"Don't tell me what to DO!" he kicked a crate next to us, sending it to the ground with a crash before stalking off. Once I was sure he was gone, I let out a long breath. Nutcase.

That's why you don't date people you meet at the therapist. I should've known better then. At any rate I do now. Of course it would be luck that he got thrust back into my life.

"What's going on here?" I jumped, turning to see Thorin at the other end of the hall, Sute hanging on to one arm.

"Its nothing, I knocked the crate over looking for you two is all." I lied quickly, picking the crate back up. Or trying to, but it was too heavy to lift.

"You just knocked it over. By accident." The dwarf king walked over, lifting the crate back up between the two of us. Sute started playing with the loose planking.

"Must be stronger than I look?" I smiled, trying to make light of it.

Thorin was having none of that. "I heard yelling."

"Its nothing, don't worry yourself over it." He gave me a look. "…I got Jordan angry, no big deal. Getting on people's nerves seems to be my specialty."

"Isn't that the truth." Thorin muttered under his breath. "Where are the others?"

"They're out on an errand." I said quickly, as Thorin began looking around slightly. "Shopping… I think, I wasn't feeling well so I stayed here."

"You aren't getting sick, are you?" Thorin seemed disgusted by the idea. "We can't afford people slowing us down now."

"Of course I'm not getting sick. It's just all this fish, its making me nauseous. When do we leave this foul place?" I sat down on the crate with a huff, playing up my 'nausea'.

"Plans are being set into motion, we should be ready to leave by the morrow. That is, if Kili and Lady Miley are done with all of their secret plots."

"Secret plots?" I made a face. "They're doing nothing of the-"

"Do you really expect me to believe that they went, shopping?" Thorin cut me off.

"…Alright, it was a farfetched notion, but there isn't really anything else to do in this town unless you feel like defacing statues of a greasy slime ball." I looked around quickly. "He's not nearby, is he?"

"Not that I was aware of." Thorin sighed. "Though it seems I am not aware of much, since no one deems it worth their time to tell me of anything."

"Sorry, but… it really isn't." we sat awkwardly for a moment. "But just trust us, if there's something you should be worrying about, you'll be the first to know."

He raised an eyebrow. "Forgive me if I do not kind that particularly comforting, coming from you."

"None taken I suppose."

Sute began climbing up Thorin's leg, humming to herself. We both watched her. "Kili tells me that this is you when you were younger."

"…In a way I suppose." I frowned. "One from an alternate reality or something of that sort probably, since I don't remember living my life from infancy to toddlerhood with a bunch of dwarves."

"What is she doing here?"

"A question I wish I knew the answer to." I frowned. "I'm not Sherlock, otherwise I'm sure I would have pieced it all together by now. But with this puny brain I'm stuck with, I can't make heads or tails of anything. Perhaps there is no order to it at all! Just a random series of events that all just so happened to revolve, more or less, around me."

"And do you think that is the case?"

"Not at all." I snorted. "It would have to take someone with the highest degree of conceit to honestly believe that. And while I'm pretty close, I still have some sense left." I stared at Sute, who looked at me and smiled back. "What an idiot of a child."

The three of us listened to the sounds of the water, and the people, and the wood. A constant noise you could only notice in the silence. It could drive me crazy if I listened too long.

"When are the others coming back?" Thorin asked.

"Who knows?" I groaned. "They've gone to recruit our 'dragon slayer' but with the luck we've had lately, I doubt they'll succeed."

"We will manage, with or without the help of a dragon slayer."

"I think we may find out."

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**Please review! Your feedback is more important than ever! especially with the distance since my last update. I need to know if people are still reading this!**

**Thanks so much if you are! You're Awesome!**


	70. Chapter 70: (Not) Wallowing In Selfpity

**As I promised, another chapter quickly! Hopefully you like this one better since no one seemed too keen on the last one.**

**Well whatever, its all good. Hope you enjoy :)**

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"Its no good. Bard won't come."

I rolled my eyes as the distraught Miley reported their failings of the evening. "What did you expect? You walked up to a bargeman and asked him to go slay a dragon for you!"

"But he _has_ to!" Miley stressed, stopping in front of me. "Its in the book, its our greatest chance."

"That's the thing with chance. You've always got a shot, no matter how small it is." I smirked.

"Will you stop? Your not fooling anyone with your whole 'wise anecdote' act."

"I'll stop when you calm down." I replied. "Its not the end of the world. As Thorin said, we'll manage!"

She sighed and sat down next to me on the thin cot we shared. "I still can't imagine you and Thorin talking for that whole time."

"It wasn't that long actually. Just at the beginning, then he and Sute disappeared again."

"Then what did you do that whole time?" Miley asked in amusement.

"I dunno. Lazed around I guess… Where's Kili? I haven't seen him since we got back."

"He and his sister are trying to figure out a new plan. Since our resident dragon slayer has decided to go on strike." She flopped back exasperatedly.

"Oh! I was thinking while you guys were out. Maybe I could try sleeping and see if I get any more of those lucid, possibly prophetic dreams." Miley made a noise of hesitation. "Why not?"

"I don't know. Dreams always just cause trouble in stories."

I rolled my eyes. "Orrr they provide essential plot points! Come on, I think it's at least worth a shot."

"How would you even do it? Just fall asleep and hope you get lucky?" She pulled a face of defiance. I stood up and walked over to stoke the fire.

"Not… exactly. I had more of a plan than that. Give me some credit."

"Well your hesitance obviously means I'm not going to like it, so spit it out already so I can say no."

"Before you veto it, at least let me finish, alright?" I sighed, turning to look at her. "So I noticed, that my dreams recently were more directly related to my health. Mental or physical. So you know when I was almost dying? Well I was getting some pretty serious dreamage going on there!"

"M, no." Miley glared at me. "I mean, Nimm, there is no way in Mordor I'm letting you almost kill yourself again!"

"Let me finish!"

"Ugh!"

"So I was thinking about it, and maybe its not the near death experience exactly, but all the drugs and medicine I was on in order to heal faster!"

Miley's concern dropped away instantly. "Basically your suggesting you get yourself high on the of chance that you may or may not have lucid dreams which may, or may not be helpful."

"Yes."

"No."

"Oh come on!" I thrust the poker back in its stand. "I'm not useful for anything else! I just make a mess of things like I did today. You made me stay here so I didn't ruin your only shot! If I can't be helpful as I am, at least let me try to be of some help. And if it doesn't work out at least I'll be drunk in a corner so you won't have to worry about me!"

Miley stood up angrily. "This is stupid and immature. You know it. I know it. You just want an excuse to start drinking again!"

"I want to be useful!" I yelled back. "Is that too much to ask?"

"Then be useful. But not like this."

"Listen, just because you're a goody two shoes who-"

"You know its not about that. Kili would agree with my 100 percent with me and you know it!"

"What would I agree with?" We both turned to see Kili standing at the doorway.

"Nimm wants to get herself drunk."

"Oi!" I looked at her. Kili looked at me. Miley just shrugged sassily. How do you even shrug sassily?

"Nimm?" Kili asked questioningly.

"She took that totally out of context okay!" I said defensively. "I was just thinking, that it might be the key to getting more of those dreams I had before."

"That is quite the assumption." Miley smiled bitterly.

"No one asked you." I snapped, before calming down and taking a breath. "Look, Kili, I'm trying to do what's best for the cause here. Sure it may look like I'm wallowing in self-pity or something, but that's not what I was trying to do. At all." We stared at each other for a moment before Kili let out an exhausted sigh and stepped further into the room, motioning Miley to leave.

"I'll take care of this one." Miley hesitated for a moment, then left, giving me a good long glare before disappearing down the hall. Kili took my hand and led me over to sit on the bed next to him. We sat in silence for a moment as he rubbed circles on my hand, trying to think of what to say.

"No one thinks you're useless."

"I know I'm useless."

"Nimm…" He looked at me imploringly.

"I'm not trying to be difficult." I said, feeling guilty. "I just feel it would be the best thing for me to do right now. I've been zoning out all day anyway, might as well be gathering info on the enemy while I do so. I don't understand why you and Miley are freaking out about it."

"Is it really so hard to understand?" He looked at me with troubled eyes. "Nimm, you can dream your way into the heart of the enemies plots, as if you were actually there. Do you not find that, even the slightest bit strange?" I stared at him blankly and he let out a hollow, worried laugh, holding my hands tighter. "Nimm, I'm worried for you. It doesn't make any sense. Why you of all people? Miley's supposed to be the chosen one after all. What connects _you_ to this evil? This… Sorceress?" He looked at me, as if half expecting an answer. "Why _you_?"

"I don't know!" Darn you tears. Don't you dare start falling. Don't you dare… crap. "I don't know. I've been trying to figure it out and I can't! You think you're scared? What about me?" I sobbed, grabbing his shoulders tightly. "I'm scared Kili! I am scared as hell and I don't know what I can do about it! Because I can't. Because I'm useless and need more clues! I don't have enough pieces to this puzzle to figure it out, and I can't find any more like this!" I fell forward, my head leaning against his chest. "And I'm scared dammit."

He pulled me into a tight hug and just held me there as I tried to quiet down. It wasn't easy. But when I did, Kili knew what he was going to say next. "Its okay. It's okay to be scared. And it's okay not to have all the pieces. Because we don't need it. Tomorrow the elven king and his forces will arrive and the plan we've been working on will finally be set into motion. We don't need all the pieces because it will be over before it began." He stroked my hair calmingly. "And you've done so much to help it happen. Without you, we never would have known about the sorceress, or her alliance with the dragon, or even that they were in Erebor at all! You've done what you can. Now let us take care of the rest."

I wanted to give in to that confidence. To believe that everything would be all right, and my part of the journey was done. If only I could, life would have been so much easier. Curse my pessimistic mind.

"Everything I've done to help this plan was knowledge from my dreams." I pushed away enough so I could look him in the eye. "If you don't let me do this, your wasting what little advantages you've been given. Let me do this."

"I ca-"

We jumped in alarm as a blood-curdling scream pierced the skies. The two of us rushed towards its origin, just like all the other inhabitants of the house. We all converged about the same time to find a gruesome sight.

Miley was standing, horrified by the open closet door. There, lying on the closet floor, covered in his own blood, was Alfrid.

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**Well I never liked him anyway.**

**Yay! A murder mystery... kind.. review if you want, if anyone out there is still reading this or not... ^-^**


	71. Chapter 71: Vertex(the Parabola of Life)

**First off, thank you SO MUCH those who reviewed it really brightened up an otherwise dismal day!**

**Secondly, I am... worried about this chapter. I'll just come out and say it, I did not plan on certain events being introduced in this manner but it just kind of happened. So i'm gonna post it, but... idk just... dont get your hopes up? this is the problem with experimenting. I feel like i could let you guys down or something blehg**

**anyway, enjoy!**

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The rock was hard, and dug into the open wounds covering my left side. I didn't have energy to move anymore. I hadn't had the energy for a long time now. Days, weeks, telling apart the time was not only impossible but also pointless. No one was coming for me. The orc's snarls drew nearer again, forcing my eyes to use the slightest movement to focus through the dark to see them approach.

One growled deep in the back of its throat as it peered closely at me. "You dead yet?"

I spat blood in his face and dropped back to the ground, exhausted. The orc growled and stood up quickly, giving me a kick to the ribs. I barely felt it.

After dropping some mostly are bones a few feet away, the orcs left once more. They didn't bother much to torture me or mess me up anymore. Once I reached a certain point there was no fun in it for them. I would just lie there. It was more work to keep me conscious than it was worth.

I don't know why they even bothered leaving their scraps for me. It seemed like they wanted me dead, but they wouldn't kill me off. Or let me kill myself. I couldn't even feel my hands through the tightly bound rope, much less use them.

I waited in the dark, almost immersed in the gray haze of sleep. Then I felt the slightest movement. Rina's tiny form crawled out from somewhere in the folds of my tattered clothes, coming up closer to my face.

"M, are you awake?" Her voice was slight, but still loud enough to hurt so close to my ear.

I mumbled a few barely audible syllables in response. Yes heaved a sigh of relief, quickly heading to drag the bones closer. Bless her tiny, fiction soul.

"Poor M, curse that girl, you don't deserve this." I listened to her chatter, it was the only thing that kept me here I think. "Why's she doing this to you? Why must she be so cruel?" She started tearing out pieces of old raw meat off the bone and forced it into my mouth. "Try to swallow."

I tried vaguely. It didn't work. Rina didn't even notice. She just kept talking.

"Don't worry. They'll be coming soon. Any day now, Miley and Nimm and all the others will show up and get us out of here. You'll see. Any day now." She said that every day. I had accepted my fate long ago.

This was the danger of books, sometimes; they just won't let you die. If I did this would all be so much easier. I could die and wake up back in my world. Maybe go back and try to save Miley… maybe not. Since she clearly wouldn't come back for me.

They might have searched. They might have looked for a sign, a trail to follow. I doubt it. They had 'Nimm' after all. Who needs two of such a useless person running around in the first place? No one. I would just lie here until they let me die. However long that took.

Where once was light, now darkness falls. Where once was love, love is no more. Don't say goodbye. Don't say I didn't try. These tears we cry are falling rain. For all the lies you told us, The hurt, the blame. And we will weep to be so alone. We are lost, we can never go home.

So in the end I'll be what I will be. No loyal friend was ever there for me. Now we say goodbye. We say you didn't try. These tears you cry have come too late. Take back the lies, the hurt, the blame. And you will weep when you face the end alone. You are lost, you can never go home. You are lost, you can never go home.

I lay in the darkness. The shadows. The depths. And there in the heart of Erebor, in the center of the Sorceresses domain, I reached the lowest point in my life. Where there was nothing but gloom. Dark. Despair. Mom?

Abruptly, the light crashed upon me. My eyes shrieked in pain. My wounds seared with new purpose. My numb hands suddenly surged with feeling as if on fire. And through the blurred vision of my almost dead eyes, Miley stepped out of the sudden light and it grew dim once more.

I panted as I tried to get back, my eyes still burning from the glowing bauble in her hand as she crouched next to me.

"Oh Mary, Mary, my fears have come to pass." It was Miley's voice, but the age that seeped through it was clear. Her hand brushed before my eyes and the pain in them ceased, my sight once more restored to it's previous strength. I peered at her face through the gloom. It was indeed Miley. Older, wiser, wrinkles starting to map out her face and silver strands running through her hair.

"m-miley, what how?" I gasped for breath, my words scraping painfully against my throat.

"You came!" Rina cried with joy. "You actually came."

Miley did not return this elation. "Do you still have the ring?" The question was urgent.

"y-Yes?" I had managed to slip it beneath the tight ropes that had never been removed since my capture ages ago. It's constant presence had always been at the back of my mind.

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry about this." Miley frowned. I blinked at her in confusion as I watched her draw a long sword from the sheath at her side.

"Miley?" She drew it up, poised expertly.

"NO!" Rina shouted loudly, jumping forward to block the blade. Miley was knocked back with the force of the collision. I stared at Rina in shock as she looked up at the rock ceiling, gave it the finger, and collapsed to the ground, dissipating into the air as dust until she was gone completely.

"Rina!" Adrenaline surged through my veins and I struggled to get up. Miley was faster, she was back on her feet in an instant, striking for my throat.

"Immobulus." The sword froze inches from my throat at the sound of the word, spoken by an old voice.

"Well well Miley." A small old crone walked out of the shadows, the light of Miley's bauble on the floor illuminating her face, buried in a mane of gray hair. She was hauntingly familiar. "Trying to foil my plans this late in that game?" The old woman clucked her tongue and pried the sword from Miley's fingers, casting it aside. "Can't have that, I'm quite close to succeeding you see! And it would be a shame to spoil it now." She glanced down at me and shook her head. "What a waste of talent. Time to move you along child. Your purpose is not in this world for a long time coming. Enjoy your new story. I'll be by to pop you along, don't worry."

Miley grunted loudly, forcing one hand up, almost reaching the old woman's throat before she was stopped as the Sorceress focused her wand again. "Now now, play nicely. You might have powerful magic's but I'm far older than you my dear. And far better equipped." She nodded to the stick in her hand. "They don't call it the Elderwand for nothing you know." Miley's old face twisted with anger as she continued to struggle against it. "Well now your just being a pest. I've got other business to attend to! Appareo." Black smoke wrapped around the two of them, and with a loud crack, they disappeared. I was once more plunged into darkness, my mind reeling. What had just happened? Miley… Rina!

But before I had much time to think, another loud crack sounded and the Sorceress was back. This time alone.

"Now where was I? Oh yes!" She smiled down at me. "Prince of Persia." She whipped her wand out again, slicing it sharply across her wrist so that blood poured forth. "Terrireum!"

I felt like I was falling and floating and disappearing all at once. Before suddenly I found myself face first in sand. Lots, and lots of sand.

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**...well? what do you think?**


	72. Chapter 72: Who did it?

**Okay I finally got to finishing this chapter. Classes are getting much harder which means im buiser, but I'll try to keep updating when I get free time.**

**Enjoy!**

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"WHO DID THIS?!" The Master of Laketown was beyond furious. And also scared for his life. I looked around at those present. Miley, Kili, Fili, Thorin, Sute, Jordan, the maid, and the cook. One of them had plunged the butter knife through Alrid's throat. The question was, which one of them did it?

"He's barely stiff." Thorin reported, moving the dead arm. "And not cold yet. I wouldn't give him more than a few hours. It was recent."

"Miley, Kili, and I were out all afternoon." Fili frowned. "It wasn't any of us."

"Any witnesses that could confirm that?" Jordan narrowed his eyes at the blonde shedwarf.

"Several, if the need arises." Fili glared back.

"I demand the murderer come forward immediately and face proper retribution!" The Master continued his tirade. He looked around at all of us accusingly. Everyone just looked around at other faces, trying to find the guilty party.

I didn't know much about the Master, but I'd seen enough to know he relied on Alfrid for practically everything. There was no way in hell he was the murderer.

And Thorin had no motive. The maid and the cook were such minor characters; it couldn't have been either of them.

My eyes came to rest on Jordan.

He had the motive, the capability, it all made sense. That's when I noticed he was looking straight back at me. _What?_ I mouthed to him.

_Was it you?_ He mouthed back, suspicion on his face.

I glared at him.

_It wasn't?_ He seemed genuinely shocked.

I opened my mouth to reply but then noticed the silence of the room. They were all looking between Jordan and I with varying levels of suspicion.

"So which of you two was it?"

I blinked back at Thorin in shock. "You don't really think it was me… Thorin, I was with you and Sute the whole time."

"Only for a time during the morning. You disappeared for a few hours before the others got back." The dwarf king pointed out. This is really helping my case here Thorin, thanks a lot.

"I didn't kill him!" I said instead, looking around for support. "I barely knew the guy!"

"Of course you didn't kill him." Kili said from next to me, shooting me a reassuring smile before glaring at Jordan. "So, killing your partner in cold blood? That's pretty low."

"What?" Jordan scoffed. "_I_ didn't kill him. I would never kill someone!"

"Was it…" I started hesitantly. "…the 'other' guy?"

"No I… I don't think so." Everyone looked between the two of us in confusion.

"They're in this scheme together!" The Master cried in alarm. "All of you have come to finish us off!"

"Will you shut up?" Miley groaned.

"You didn't tell him?" I asked Jordan.

"Of course not! But still, I had no reason to kill Alfrid, he was the one to take me under his wing in the first place."

"But you never know what the other guy might do."

"What 'other' guy?" Kili asked angrily. "Nimm, what's going on?"

"That's what I would like to know." Thorin agreed.

"Everyone just needs to calm down."

"It's a Conspiracy! Guards! Guards!"

"Well if you didn't kill him then who did?"

"I thought it was you!"

"I already told you it wasn't!"

"Will someone explain to me what's going on?"

"Back fiends! Back!"

"This is getting us nowhere."

"OIIIII!" everyone fell silent as Miley shouted loudly above the mass of voices. We all turned to look at her. A tall, angry, woman with her hands firmly on her hips. "There is a man lying dead on the floor with a knife in his back. One of the people in this room is most likely responsible. There is a killer in our midst, an army of elves on the way as we speak who are expecting some sort direction, there is an evil witch threatening all of middle earth, and I have suddenly developed a craving for raw meat. Now is not the time to be bickering like a bunch of school children!" Everyone started to interject. "SHUSH!" we fell silent again. "Now if _any_ of you had actually taken the time to examine the murder, you'd notice the handle of the knife has broken off. Which means there is another piece of evidence somewhere in the building that will probably determine the killer. So why don't we stop shouting at each other and _find it_!"

Well that shut us up.

There was an awful moment of silence. Like the kind when you're hanging with a group of kids and get caught doing something bad and you get told off by an adult. Thorin was the first one to recover of course.

"Lets find the knife handle then. Go in pairs so the evidence doesn't get tampered with."

"Seriously though," Miley frowned. "Does anyone have any raw meat?"

"Why bother with searching the whole estate?" The Master sniffed. "It's one of them who did it." He pointed a greasy finger at Jordan and I in turn. "Search their rooms, that's where we'll find it I guarantee."

"Fine." Thorin glared slightly. "We'll start there."

"As if the murder would be stupid enough to leave evidence in their room." I rolled my eyes, but followed anyway as the small group first went to Jordan's quarters. The place was ransacked by the time I was done, and I could hear him sighing in the background, as the mess grew bigger. He'd always been a bit of a neat freak.

But after a few minutes, no handle had been found. There were more than a few condemning glances thrown my way, mostly from the Master. The group then proceeded to the small guest room Miley and I shared.

"This is a waste of time you know." I said as everyone walked in and started rifling around. I leaned against the door jam and watched with annoyance. They didn't seem to care.

"This!" Thorin's exclamation stopped everyone in their tracks and they look over to where he stood by the head of the small cot. The pillow now lay on the floor and I peered through the flickering torchlight to see what had been underneath it. Slowly, Thorin picked it up and brought it for everyone to see. In his fingers was a bloody knife handle.

The bottom of my stomach dropped out.

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***gasp* a cliff hanger! how unexpected! :o ohnuuu whatever shall we do now?**


	73. Chapter 73: The Negotiations were Short

**It's in the final chapters guys! I'm back for the last final mile! Hope it satisfies :)  
**

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_I watched, horrified, as the guards grabbed Nimm and started taking her away._

_"Stop! She isn't the killer!" Kili tried to tell them, fighting against Fili and Thorin who struggled to keep him back. "Let me go Fili!"_

_"It wasn't me guys!" Nimm tried to say as well, but no one seemed to be listening. She must have been framed. That was the only explanation. Nimm wasn't a killer. Furthermore, even if she was she wouldn't be stupid enough to keep the evidence under her pillow. Which meant it must have been Jordan. I fought through the nawling hunger in my stomach and stormed over to the young man, grabbing his collar roughly._

_"Happy now?" I snapped, glaring at his bewildered expression._

_"What? No! Why would I be?" He seemed genuinely shocked._

_"Because you've successfully pinned of your murder on an innocent!"_

_"First off," He grabbed his collar from me, freeing himself. "She's hardly 'innocent' even before this. Secondly, my only ally in this world is dead, and it looks like my exgirlfriend is the one who finished him off! It what version of reality would I even be remotely happy about any of this?" He sounded really convincing and it sent shivers down my spine. For a moment I had actually considered that M... Nimm might have been the killer._

_"Let me go! Or Mahal help you I will make you!"_

_"Calm down Kili!" His sister berated him. "You aren't helping anything."_

_"I said, let me go!" on the last word, Kili lashed out, shoving Fili away and starting for the door that they had dragged Nimm through. The next second he was on the floor unconscious. Thorin had struck him._

_"He'll wake before the elves arrive." The dwarf king was far too calm about the whole ordeal. "In the meantime," He turned to the Master who was downing wine like water. "We must discuss the details of the alliance."_

_"Alliance? What alliance? I will not associate myself with cold blooded killers. Out. Out I say! Guards, throw them out of the town! They are not welcome here!"_

_It was then a blur of action. And the next thing I knew, the four of us were out side the gates, lying on the cold planks of the bridge back to the shore. My first thought was thankfulness that I hadn't fallen on my stomach. I was just barely starting to show and I didn't know what damage that could've done to the child. My second thought was of the other child._

_"Sute!" I scrambled to my feet. "She's still in there!" I lurched forward and threw up. Fili was at my side in an instant._

_"Get lost scraps!" The guard shouted from the top of the gate. "Or we'll make you leave."_

_"Sute is still..." I tried again, but Fili was already pulling me away. Thorin hefted Kili over his shoulders with a grunt._

_"Bet you're regretting knocking him out now uncle." Fili said to the dwarf king. Thorin grunted in reply._

_It was cold that night. Even with the fire we had started, I was shivering. And if I had felt hungry before, it was nothing compared to the ache that throbbed in me when the sun first started peeking over the treetops. The elves would be arriving soon. And we'd have nothing for them but disappointment. Fili was shaking Kili awake as I sat on the frozen ground, suddenly aware of the present moment. Everything had fallen to pieces, yet Thorin and Fili had managed to remain calm throughout the entire thing. Perhaps that was a marking of true leaders? Thorin wandered over from the woods nearby, a small rabbit hanging from his belt. It was skinny and diseased looking, but just the sight of it made me salivate. Thorin must have noticed cause he unhooked the small creature from his belt and tossed it into my lap._

_"You said you were craving raw meat." He supplied before siting down again next to the fire. I nodded my thanks quickly then tore into the small dead creature. I was slightly horrified at myself. It must have been the orc part of the child inside me. At any rate, it made my skin crawl with a thousand centipedes._

_I was at the edge of the lake, cleaning off the blood and fur scraps when we first caught sight of the elves arriving. Legions of golden clad warriors marching in rank. Large crossbows, each stocked with huge, black tipped arrows, were brought among the ranks. At their head, riding a large elk, was King Thranduil._

_Thorin stood to greet them. Kili, who had been caught up on our current situation moments ago, followed behind slowly. He was still worried about Nimm. I was as well, but she was tough. I knew she could handle herself._

_"It appears negotiations did not go as planned." Thranduil called from more than a few paces away._

_"Negotiations went well. There was an unexpected complication just last night." Thorin replied, retaining his composure._

_"Where is the other one?"_

_"She was framed for murder." Kili supplied bitterly, finally speaking up._

_"Framed?" Thranduil smirked quietly. "What makes you so sure? She's killed one of our people before. It would appear that she received her due." Kili started to reply angrily, but Fili put a hand on his shoulder to silence him. I was confused for a moment until I remembered what the elf king spoke of. She had been captured when they found her in Mirkwood, how could I have forgotten?_

_"We shall have no aide from Laketown." Thorin moved the conversation along. "I have received word from my cousin, Dain of the Iron-Hills. He is already in place."_

_"Then let us, onward to the field of battle." Thranduil turned his elk around through his parting army. "We have a sorceress to kill."_

I slammed the bars of the prison. The metal did not so much as shake in response. I was firmly trapped in here. Of course the only well built thing in the town would be the prison.

"Dammit Jordan! I didn't do it!" I yelled to whoever was outside. To my surprise, Jordan's face appeared at the door. But by the evil grin on his face I knew it wasn't him. "Of course you choose now to show up, J."

"Hey Mary." He smirked back.

"The name's Nimm. I told you."

"Still in control there are we?" He frowned.

"What kind of back question is that? Let me out J, you know I wasn't the murderer."

"On the contrary 'Nimm' I think you'll find that, you were the murderer."

"What the hell? No I wasn't." I took a step back from the bars as J's eyes flashed dangerously. "Damnit J, I always new you had duo personalities, but I never knew you were delusional to."

"So you really don't have any memory when she takes you over? Fascinating." He peered at me like I was a lab rat under observation after an experiment.

"When who takes me over? What the hell are you talking about?" Curse the tremor in my voice.

"I guess we'll just have to wait until she does again." He sat down on a stool outside my cell and watched passively. I swallowed nervously. What was he talking about?

_I was impressed with the organization of the elves. We had marched to the ruins of Dale and the army was quickly organized and dispatched along the ruined wall, facing the mountain. I stood with the commanders, overlooking the entire operation. We had not seen even a glimpse of movement from the mountain. A ram riding dwarf had arrived as we had, giving a report that the dwarves of the Iron hills were in position and waiting for the signal._

_And now Thorin, Thranduil, Fili, and Kili stood overlooking the area, discussing their plans in low voices. I surveyed the set up as well. There was a front line of elves. On the higher towers sat the crossbows, each manned by several warriors who were already loading large black arrows into the crosshairs. Those were for the dragon once it immersed. But could undead dragons be killed like live ones could? Somehow I doubted it._

_Just as I was thinking this, a glimpse of movement caught my eye._

_"What's that over there?" I pointed to the others, drawing them from their planning. "By the base of Ravenhill." Thranduil peered out over the distance while Kili grabbed a telescope to look for what I had spotted._

_"Nimm?" I looked at him in surprise. Fili grabbed the telescope from him and looked as well._

_"Not just Nimm, that man from Laketown as well. And... Sute?"_

_My throat ran dry. "We need to get over there. Now."_

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**The next two chapters will be the finale! And the real challenge begins. Trying to explain everything without a boring explanation scene. Wish me luck!**

**_Also_**

**I'd love to hear your theories about what's going on! I already know, so don't worry about swaying my opinion or anything. tbh I've known for a long long time now. about chapter 10 I think? So there's lots of foreshadowing throughout. (plus a few red hearings but not too many I don't think)**

**This has been so much fun to write! Thank you all who have read this story and walked this journey with me!**


	74. Chapter 74: The Field of Ice(End Part 1)

**There is going to be at least one more chapter after this. I'm not sure after that, it will depend on the turn of events and such. ****If this chapter does not shed light on almost all previous events then let me know and I'll try to clarify more in the next chapter.**

**This is the longest story I have ever written. I hope you enjoy part 1 of the finale!**

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Snow falls. Flakes drift like ash upon the air. My glazed eyes began to clear as the white surrounds became apparent to me. There was someone walking a few paces ahead of me. I was walking. Where was I headed?

I was walking up a snowing incline, a rock face on one side. Jordan was ahead of me, holding a sleeping Sute in his arms. My feet continued to shuffle forwards, though I did not tell them to. I suppose I never told them to stop.

"Jordan." I called out softly. "Where are we? How did we get here?" He looked over his shoulder back at me and smirked. "J... of course it's you."

We reached the top of the incline. Light shone through the clouds, blinding as it reflected off the snow. Before us was a plateau of ice, many strides wide, on the other side of it stood a tall tower, black against the sky.

"Where are we?"

"Ravenhill." J answered. "An outpost of Erebor."

Erebor. I was close to the others. I still wasn't sure how I escaped or how I got here, but it was better than being stuck in the Laketown jail. But why did J have Sute? Something felt off about the whole situation. And how come I couldn't remember anything that just happened?

"What are we doing here?" I asked, hoping he would still feel like answering.

"To witness the birth of a god." He was still grinning. I wished he would stop. His answer sent shivers down my spine more than the snow that had already dampened my traveling clothes. I looked once more through the mist, over the field of ice... The Field of Ice.

Something moved on the other side of the mist and ice. I peered through trying to make it out. Green lights eliminated the land, clearing the mist till I could see across through the snow. There was a small crumpled figure, flanked on either side by massive orcs, both pale and scarred all over. The smallest figure stepped forward, a glowing wand in hand.

"The Sorceress." I breathed into the cold air. This was my chance. I could kill her here. But for some reason, I didn't feel like I would. I could kill her... but I wasn't going to. Why not?

"Come closer." At her bidding, Jordan and I started forward. The ice was thick below my feet as I shuffled forward. I was half way across the ice when the deep sound of cracking came from somewhere deep below me. My feet stopped. I looked down and a tremor of fear ran through me. Like a shell around me,

I broke through the stupor over my mind.

I was standing on the middle of a field of ice. My enemy stood before me, Sute in her minion's arms. The snow made it hard to see her face, but I knew who she was. In the back of my mind I knew.

"Who are you?" I needed her to say it aloud.

"Resisting my control are we?" The Sorceress said with amusement. "Good. This will make my victory that much sweeter."

"Stop babbling and answer me. Who are you?" I tried to peer through the snow. She raised her wand, green tip glowing. I could hear words mumbled to the wind, sending a shiver through the air. I blinked and as I opened my mind, the snow was frozen in place in the air before me. I looked around at the still ice crystals. With the strange spell I was now able to see to the other side of the ice where the sorceress stood. She was short, accentuated by her curved back and thin bones, but even in the height of her youth she would have been short. Her head was a mass of course gray hair and was frazzled and matted. Her clothes were tattered robes of a dark purple variety. They were charred and moth-eaten. All these details were just a distraction that I let myself look over to prolong the inevitable. Once I knew I couldn't wait any longer, I took a deep breath. There was a mask of wrinkles and scars, but underneath the age and experience I saw her. I stared at my own face.

"You're me."

"You don't seem to surprised." She raised a grey eyebrow.

"I think... I knew already." My words were barely more than a whisper and I wasn't sure if she even heard me. I called out again. "How did you make me come here?"

"A simple spell of course. You're surprisingly weak willed. Making you kill was easy." The boy in mirk wood... Alfred...

"Why? Why did you do it?"

"You expect me to explain myself to you?" The old woman cackled. "It was necessary. Your young, feeble mind could never understand." She started pacing slowly. "No I'm not going to explain my methods to you. I'm going to tell you just enough to make my victory sweet."

"You're going to gloat." I glared at her.

"Exactly! You understand, don't you? After so much effort is put into something, I want to be appreciated for my genius. Is that too much to ask?"

"But why tell me?" It was a valid question.

"Because then you'll see the truth! You don't need anyone to survive! Sure you got the dwarf. You're 'One'. You may be getting the perfect, sappy, idiotic love story..." I could hear the sneer in her voice. "But I still win! Me! I survived! And I will continue to survive! Forever."

"No one can survive forever." I scoffed.

"That's where you're wrong Mary Sue. I will reach immortality this very day. And you will be witness to it." From a sheath at her side, the Sorceress drew a crooked, golden, gleaming dagger. It looked familiar, but I couldn't quite place where I had seen it before. "Behold! The Dagger of Time. The Prince of Persian world is where I first was sent and where I first sent myself, see. A much coveted bit of steel. And with good reason." She twirled it in her hands carefully.

"Anyone who stabs themselves with the dagger of time will become immortal." She looked up and smiled at me. "Isn't that fascinating?"

"Well if you've had it with you, why haven't you used it?" I was shocked how much hatred sounded from my voice.

The Sorceress looked up at me in amusement. "Do you have any idea how long it took to get my hands on this dagger? It took me ninety-seven years." She chuckled to herself. "Which tells you more about how old I am than I'd prefer." The witch recovered her composure. "The dagger freezes you in time. Who would want to spend an eternity looking like this?" She gestured to herself.

"So what's th-"

"NIMM!"

Kili! I turned to look behind me. They were all there; Kili, Miley, Fili, Thorin, even Thranduil. Kili started out across the ice immediately as I turned back around to face the Sorceress, smirking. "Looks like your gloating ruined your plans. Too bad your ego had to be pampered, immortality won't be yours after all." Heavy footsteps neared behind me and Kili came to stand next to me, squeezing my hand as a brief hello as we both stayed facing the Sorceress.  
The old woman paused for a moment, jaw gritting. "You think my plans so easily foiled? Bring as many ears as you wish! They will all witness my ascension to godhood!"

Miley came quietly to my other side. "That's you."

I nodded. "And they have Sute."

Kili's brow creased. "Just how many of you are there?"

"This is... was M, I think." I frowned.

"What happened to her?" Miley wondered aloud.

"Time... pain... life." I mused

"You realize what is happening, right?" She asked me. "When the beginning, middle, and end of life converge upon the field of ice, then is the time to act. But what am I supposed to act upon?"

"Maybe we can find out." I said before calling out again. "So what's your master plan? You've got ears listening. Gloat."

She stared at me a long time before speaking. "Where was I? Ah yes, regaining my youth." an evil smile once more graced her features. "Tell me, Miley dear, does this child look like a babe?" We all looked at the sleeping Sute in Jordan's arms. She was easily 3 or 4. "You found her as a new born just a few months ago."

"It was elf magic." Miley said warily.

The Sorceress laughed loudly. "It was science fool. Didn't you ever wonder what would happen when two of the same person touched?"

"Nothing happens. I tested it already." I called angrily. The Sorceress just smirked and turned to Jordan, giving him instructions that I could not hear. I watched as he handed Sute to The Sorceress. She took a withered hand and placed it upon Sute's forehead, skin touching. I expected some bright flash of light, some sort of powerful magic to burst forth. But it did not. Instead, Sute started crying loudly, suddenly awaken. Miley started forward suddenly but Fili suddenly grabbed her arm and held her back. The two pale orcs had stepped forward, weapons at the ready should anyone try to interfere. So we watched. It was hard to describe exactly what we were watching, however. Sute seemed to be growing. She was aging at a rapid speed, hair getting longer, limbs extending, face elongating, fingernails extending and curling beneath her fingers.

It was such a strange and grotesque sight, the I almost didn't notice what was happening to the other version of myself. The Sorceress, M, was getting younger. Hair returning in color, back straightening, skin smoothing, it was almost as unnerving as the opposite.

No one moved, or said anything. But in a few minutes of silence, there was no longer a hag and a child, but two brown haired women in their late twenties. One was naked, sobbing on the ice. The other was dressed in robs, a bandolier of bells, a dagger, a wand, and swelling with power. She looked at her hands, felt the smooth skin on her face, and grinned with great joy.

"Don't you see Mary? No one else is needed. My own strength is enough. I Win." She grabbed the dagger quickly and brought it into her own gut. But just before it pierced her skin, a wave of light crashed upon the plateau. I blinked, regaining my vision just quickly enough to see a red-haired figure appear behind M and knock the dagger from her hand. It came skidding across the ice, halfway between us and them.

"No Mary, immortality is not for you. Nor will it ever be."

"And now there's another Miley!" Kili said irritably. True enough, Miley stood behind M, clad in sky blue robes and graying hair.

"I look old." Miley said in surprise. The two orcs charged at this older Miley. In response she flashed out an elegant elven sword parrying and attacking again.

The three of them were quickly in a frenzied dance. Jordan and Kili both dashed forward over the ice, both reaching the dagger at the same time and beginning to grapple for it. A shout came from behind as a wave of smaller orcs rushed from some dark crevice. Thorin and Thranduil met them with steel, shouting to Fili that they needed to get back to the elven forces, something about the battle had begun. Fili rushed to go meet the oncoming orcs and give the kings a chance to break through and get back to their forces.

I watched all of this with a sense of surreal understanding. Miley stood next to me, hand tightening on a blade Fili had given her earlier.

"What am I supposed to do?" She asked aloud. "I'm supposed to do something, I know it! There were those dreams! Lady Galadriel called me the 'Child of the Prophesy'! Well I'm here! It's time to fulfill the prophesy, but I don't know what I'm supposed to do!" She looked at me helplessly. "I don't know what is needed of me!"

I stared back at he, just as lost. "I don't know either! I just got told the prophesy, I have no idea what it means either!"

"But what if I missed it? What if whatever I was supposed to do it passed already?" She was covered in a cold sweat.

"Now let's just calm down and think! We don't have time to be stressing out."

"Nimm! Catch!" I looked over to see a dagger flying at my face. I just barely managed to catch it, and luckily, without getting cut. I looked down to see the Dagger of Time in my hands. Such a small thing could make someone immortal? Could make me immortal...

A huge shadow passed over the plateau. I looked up too see a huge red dragon flying through the air. Scales were flaking off and a foul smell filled my senses. Flying though it was, Smaug was definitely dead. Still, large black arrows launched after him as he swerved gracefully through the wind.

There was a loud cry of pain ringing that pulled my gaze back to earth. The two pale orcs lay dead on the ground next to the crying woman. The older Miley was not standing victorious, however. She was pressed high above into the rock face, held by a magical force. Below her, M stood, the elder wand raised and glowing.

"You dare to interfere again?!" The Sorceress screamed in anger. "I should have never brought you to this book in the first place! All of this is your fault!"

The older Miley looked towards us and called to the younger. "You have to kill her before it's too late! If I die, you die as well! End it! NOW!"

M raised her wand. "AVADA KEDA-" Her words stopped short as a sharp pain shot through my heart like fire, burning through my insides and spreading out, consuming me. The shock loosened my grip and the Dagger of Time clattered to the ground. I looked down slowly. A sword handle was sticking out of my chest, a trembling hand still holding onto the blade. I followed the hand to the arm, and that to the shoulder, to the neck, to the head, to the face. I found myself staring into Miley's horrified face.

I looked at her, my face contouring into one of confusion. "You stabbed me." She let out a gasp and stepped back, pulling out the sword accidentally.

"I... I didn't..."

I felt something like bile rising in my throat. I coughed dryly, crimson liquid falling to the snow. The world seemed to tilt, and I hit the ground, lying in the snow. Kili's voice sounded in distress from somewhere ahead of me but I couldn't make out the words. I was going into shock. I remembered from psychology lectures I had taken in college. The silly things you remember when you're dying. I was dying? I guess I was. Actually dying. I'd died before, but never real death. It had always been that fake not death since it was in books.

Miley's face appeared in my bleary vision. She was crying and moving to shake me then pulling back before she even touched me. She was talking and screaming, sobbing, praying. Then she was shoved aside and Kili pulled me into his arms. He whispered to me in a panic but if I focused I could hear what he said.

"It's alright, hang in there, Fili's going for a healer now. Just hold on."

My face broke into a weak smile before coughing up a few more drops of blood. "I'll hold on... as long..." He tried to shush me, cradling me closer. "as I... can." I didn't know how long that was, but I didn't think it would be long now before

"Just hold on." He repeated, trying to keep tears back.

"I really... love you... you know?"

"I know." He nodded. "Of course I know."

"I'm... gonna leave you behind... here." The sun couldn't be setting so fast. Yet here it was, the light fading. "Be strong..."

He shook his head, a muffled noise of distress as he choked back a sob. "No. No you can't. Nimm..."

"Take care of... Miley... in case... she doesn't get... sent... back..." Talking was really hard without the light around. Dying was slow.

"You can't ask me that." I started to feel tears falling on my skin, but it was almost numb. "Nimm she did this to you!"

"She... had no choice, don't... You... have to... take care of her. Kili." I reached a hand up to grab onto him and keep him close. Stiff fingers closed around cloth and hair. "Kili promise me."

He let out a single sob and rested his forehead on mine. "I promise. But you have to keep holding on. Just a little longer. Please."

"I'm trying." I gasped, my own tears starting to slide down my face. "I love you."

"I love you too."

"Then it's ok..." I tried to smile, but my face was numb, it was hard to form words anymore. "Did we... win?"

Kili looked up quickly to see before looking down at me again. "Yes. Yes we won. So you have to stay with me, alright? Everything's going to be okay."

"I..." Love You.

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**Part 2 will be coming in a few days!  
**

**Please review if you have a moment it might give me the inspiration to write and post the chapter day or two sooner! Also, it'll make the writing even better probably! So if you have a second or two I would realllyyyyy appreciate it! **

**Thanks for reading this far!**


	75. Chapter 75:The Basement(End Part 2)

**I actually wrote this Friday, but then I saw the latest review and got really freaked out. But I'm posting it anyway, cause the coincidence is way to awesome/freaky to ignore. So here you go guys! The climax.**

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Being dead looked an awful lot like standing in someone's basement. Incandescent lights flicker on the ceiling and cobwebs line the corners of a junk filled room. A carpeted staircase sits in the corner, a door at the top. Tiny windows are crammed at the top of the walls, though no light is shining through them.

Death my foot. I am in a basement. Talk about a disappointment. I was expecting white voids, booming voices, or cavernous flame filled hells. This just sucks.

It's quiet. Just the sound of a water heater humming from the closet and the constant sound of typing behind me. I turn around, boots barely scraping over the cement floor. I look at the office chair, there's a girl siting in it, hunched over a glowing laptop screen, fingers dancing over the keyboard.

I take a few steps forward, trying not to make a sound and alert the girl. She is throughly engrossed in whatever she's doing and music is blaring into headphones. I relax a little bit, I'll be able to move more easily without her hearing me. I peer around her head to see what she is doing. A word doc is open, lines of text being typed at a consistent pace. She stops to look up how a word is spelled, then goes back to typing. My eyes follow the words, before widening in realization. This is exactly what I'm doing! She's writing... me? How is that possible? I take a step back. Once she realizes, she'll turn around and see me. And then what? But as I wait longer, she still does not turn around.

"She thinks it's just a story." I look in surprise to see the small figure of Rina standing on my shoulder.

"Won't she hear us talking?" I ask in a whisper.

"Her music is playing too loud." Rina replies. "We'll be fine."

"I don't understand what's going on."

"I didn't expect you to." Rina sighs. "This is your killer. And mine, and Ori's. This is the author of our story."

"Our author? But I'm not a character. I enter stories, but I'm pretty sure the author of The Hobbit is dead and didn't have a laptop to write on." Rina chuckles coldly as she jumps from my shoulder onto the back of the office chair.

"You really didn't know? Of course you're a character. Ever heard of fan fiction?"

I stare at her unblinking. "You gotta be kidding me."

"Why would I lie to you?" Rina shrugs. "This is our author. This is the girl that killed Ori for pointless drama. This is the girl I swore that I would get revenge on."

"But... she didn't know she was doing any of it. She just thought it was a story." I stare at the back of the girl's head. Isn't she reading this conversation? Why won't she turn around?

"Stories are real." Rina spits. "You should know this better than anyone! Just a story? It's never 'Just a story'. Authors are murderers. They are the gods that ruin our lives, and take away our dearest ones for their own amusement!"

"But they don't mean it."

"They mean every single word." Rina looks me right in the eye. "And I meant it when I swore I would see her dead. But I have no weapon." She looks down at my hand. "You do." I look down as well and see a longsword in my hand. It is simple in design, but sharp. Very sharp. Rina points to the girl's neck. "She was the one that killed you. Not just once, but time and time again. Every single thing that happened to you in every story, every experience, every torture scene you endured, every loved one you lost. All of it is her fault. Do it. It's only fair."

Hesitantly I raise the sword tip up, leveling it with the side of her neck, setting my mark. The muscles in my arm move back, constricting and the sword it pulled back. Just once slice and I can kill her. I watch the back of her head. Still... she does not turn around. My mouth feels drying.

"Do it!" Rina urges me, her whole body trembling. "End this!"

Why doesn't she turn around? She has such faith that it is fiction. That none of this is real. That my thoughts and actions are just words strung together. She really means, none of this. None of the pain, none of the suffering.

What would happen if I did kill her? She would be dead. And so would I. Not dead... I would cease to exist at all. And that's worse than death would ever be. To cease to exist... Suddenly I remember Bilbo and Gandalf. Balin, Dwalin, Bofur, Bifur, Bombor, Oin, Gloin, Nori, Dori. I remember all of them. Where had they gone? How could I have forgotten them?

Rina seems to read my mind and answers angrily. "She got rid of them. 'Thirteen dwarves? That's too many. I don't need all those characters.' So off they go, leaving only the three important dwarves. The ones used for love interests. 'Bilbo? The story doesn't need any main character other than Mary Sue. I'll just get rid of him too.' And suddenly, one less hobbit. You think she's not a murderer? She's even worse than that. She deserves to die for what she did to us... and our family."

Mom...

The grip on my blade tightens. She killed my mom. And for what? A romantic scene between Kili and I? All those years of suffering and blame, four five minutes of cheap romance? Rina is right. She does deserve to die.

Yet she still does not turn around.

I suffered so much. But this person, this girl who caused it all, is completely innocent.

"What are you waiting for? Kill her already!"

That's what I would've done. Before meeting Kili and going on this adventure, I would have killed her without a second thought. That's what bad guys do. And I am a bad guy. I am the Sorceress. I am the villain of my own story. And villains kill.

But I'm also the hero. Maybe not the main character. Miley was the main character probably. But I was one of the heroes. I helped fight the bad guy, I stayed by the good guy's side. I sacrificed myself to win the day. Not willingly, but it still happened. And a hero wouldn't kill an innocent.

I'm better than that now. Kili deserves a hero. So I'll be one.

"Kili? Don't make me laugh!" Rina rolled her eyes. "You think you are actually his 'One'? The two of you are as incompatible as a fly and a bottle of windex! It's a cheap plot device to force drama. It's a way to attract viewers! It's not real!"

I look at Rina and frown. "But... we can feel each other's feelings. Share each other's pain."

"Yeah. Like a sappy romance novel." Rina replies angrily. "You said those exact words yourself. You hated each other."

"How do you know whether we loved each other or not?" I hiss back.

"Because I've been in love!" Rina is shouting at this point and there is no way the author cannot hear her. "I loved Ori. So. Much." She's sobbing uncontrollably. "And this bitch tore him away from me! She has to Die!"

She still does not turn her head. I feel my arms starting to relax, and soon the sword hangs at my side. Killing her won't change anything. It won't make me happy. It'll make me nonexistent. That's not what I want. More than that... it's not the right thing to do.

"What are you doing?" Rina screams at me. "Kill her!"

"Rina. This isn't the answer."

"I WANT REVENGE!" I walk forward quietly and scoop Rina from the back of the office chair, careful not to bump it. "Put me down! What are you doing?" I walk away with Rina in my grip, her fists pound against my hand.

I answer simply. "I'm going to get us a happy ending."

Rina starts to quiet down and cooperate as I proceed with my plan. First I borrow some normal clothes from the author's drawers so to not draw attention. Then I leave the house and start walking. The first person I come to I ask for directions to the nearest library. It's a couple miles away, but within walking distance. Rina sits on my shoulder as we walk. She seems drained and does not speak. The library sits on the corner of a street in town. Inside the air is cool compared to the summer heat outside.

"Where are we?" Rina asks vaguely.

"A place with computers. Stay hidden." She slips under my collar to hide from view. I walk over to the nearest running computer and sit down, quickly exiting the library catalogue and bringing up the internet again. It does so slowly. "Of course it would be Internet Explorer." I sigh to myself. Though eventually I navigate through google, then to my story. It is tempting to read the story through and see how accurately it was recorded, I skip straight to the last chapter instead.

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm leaving a review to change the ending." I smirk to myself.

"Hate reviews will just get reported." Rina points out.

"I know, I know. I've got a plan."

My fingers dance over the keyboard as I type my masterpiece.

'Hi the Bugslayer, I just read through your story and I absolutely love it! But this last chapter was so sad... I'm going through a really tough time right now. I just lost my boyfriend and best friend in an accident and I just really need this story to end happily! Can't you make it have a happy ending? For everyone? Bringing everyone back, so Ori and Rina can be happy, and Kili and Nimm. And can Miley have a happy ending and get home safely? Please, please do this! I'm begging you here. I just really need a happy story. To tell me that everything will be ok, that I'll get through this. To restore my faith in people.  
I... I understand if you don't want to. It's your story after all... But if you could do this, for me. It would really mean so much to me right now. I think, if there was a happy ending, then I'd be able to find my own happy ending.  
Thank you so much for creating these wonderful characters and giving them life. You may not know it, but writers are powerful. They can make sadness and happiness. So choose to make happiness. Just this once. Please?  
-A Reader'

Rina reads over my shoulder. "You think this will work?"

"I hope so. Maybe other people will review too to ask for a happy ending. Maybe if there's enough of them, we'll get a happy ending. I don't know if we deserve it. But we can still hope."

We sit in silence as I submit the review and close down the site.

"So now what?"

"Now..." I shrug. "We wait."

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**I got the EXACT same review just moments after I finished writing the chapter. It's crazy! I was just planning on kinda breaking the fourth wall a bit, but this is wild! **

**anyway, please review if you have any hopes for the conclusion, or if you have any idea what's going on with this... or even if you're still reading this. the last two chapters I've posted have gotten 0 reviews except this weird one, so it would be nice to know this isn't getting lost in the blackhole that is the internet.**

**thanks for reading!**


	76. Chapter 76: Rebooting Calibration

**Sorry this is a short transition chapter. The next one should be longer. I don't know how many more chapters there will be after this. Probably not too many.**

**Thank you everyone who reviewed and everyone who read this story. I can't believe you actually read all the way through. This story is approaching 200 pages long :O *self gratifying celebration* And I've recently reached 20,000 views! WOOOOOOOOOOOO!  
**

**NarniaTolkienNerd: I'm glad you like this story! And I was hoping I left enough clues of who the Sorceress and Sute really were. Glad you picked up on them XD (always nice to know i don't completely suck at foreshadowing lol)**

**Guest(who reviewed on the last chapter): I'm glad to hear you spent so much time reading it! That really means a lot to me. I agree that there were some weak parts to the story. Especially Fili being a girl. That was kind of random and I wanted to do more with it than I did. Unfortunately, the flow of the story brushed over it before I got the chance. I'm not a very skilled writer yet, so putting words on a page is like trying to ride a surfboard on a very fast wave, and trying to cram as many tricks in as possible without loosing my balance and falling into the ocean (if that makes any sense). Thank you again for reading!**

**Guest(who reviewed two chapters ago): I'm sorry to hear that life's been hard on you lately. I tried my best to make the ending happier. I hope you'll like it!**

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I was in a void. It would probably be described as white, if I had eyes to see it with. I did not at this moment. Instead I was a merely a conscious.

"Alright people lets rework this story a bit."

I didn't know where the voice was coming from. Must've been hearing it, but I didn't have ears.

"We got a few requests from the readers to make the story happier." The voice 'spoke' again. "Not really my forte but I'll give it a shot. So Rin, you'll be added back in."

"Yay!" a tiny voice shouted from somewhere in the void. "Can I be normal sized again?"

"Sure why not."

"And... and Ori will be alive again?"

"Yeah I'm adding all the dwarves back in. Seems some people actually missed them..." There was a little scoff of dismissal. "No one even got my reference that the Sorceress had harnessed the energy of the existence erasing crack from Doctor Who."

"How could they? You mentioned a crack like... twice at most. No one would be able to notice that. No one."

"Hey," Fili's voice sounded. "Could I... you know... not be a girl?"

"...Fineeeee." the voice replied.

"Why did you even do that in the first place."

"To avoid the common 'Girl and best friend come to middle earth and both start dating dwarves brothers cliche' obviously. That plot line is so over done."

"This whole thing was so overdone."

"Besides, I have a boyfriend." Miley's offended voice sounded from somewhere else.

"Oh yes... you." The voice said, as if remembering Miley was even there. "One of the readers wants you to get back to earth."

"I don't want to go back!" Miley replied instantly. Then she hesitated. "...Well, I mean I do. But the baby..."

"I can retcon that easily. Never existed."

"No! That's the same as murder!"

"...No, it's retconning."

"You can't do it. I won't let you."

"Fine but the reader wants you to get back home."

"Well they'll just have to be disappointed."

"After I worked so hard to get you out again?" I heard my own voice join the void. "Miley, all this time, I've only wanted to get you back to the real world. And now you're choosing to stay?"

"I'm sorry M I-"

"Nimm. I'm Nimm now."

"Yeah, I'm M. Get your facts straight."

"Ok, ok calm down y'all." The voice quieted us all down. "Miley, I think I have a plan for you, don't worry about it."

"...Alright."

"Then last on the list... Kili and Nimm to be happy. I was thinking if Kili gets his brother back as normal and Nimm gets to go back to earth, that should be happy right?"

"NO!" There were so many voices shouting that, I didn't even know if my own voice was one of them.

"You think they'll really be happy together?" The voice sounded truly surprised.

"I think I'm with the author on this one." Rin spoke up. "I told you Nimm, it's a plot device. The two of you don't really have a connection."

"Yeah honestly, I just paired you up for the drama to get more views. I think you guys would make an awful couple in real life."

I couldn't find words. At last I whispered one word into the void. "Kili?"

Not even the sound of my own heartbeat penetrated the silence.

"I... I don't know." I could barely hear his uncertain reply.

"See? The two of you are just perfect for drama! I don't care what anyone says, this relationship is the best thing I ever added to the story. Think of all the views I got because of it? What a boring story without it. Here's what I'll do. The two of you obviously need some time to think on it. So I'll just leave it uncertain for now and you guys can decide! It's the perfect solution! Alright, reboot effective in 3... 2... 1..."

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**Here we go :D  
**


	77. Chapter 77: Back for Good

**Sorry for the wait! Been very busy with work ughhh**

**Hope you enjoy XD**

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Ice is cold. I never noticed before how cold it was until I was suddenly awoken, lying on my back on the field of ice. Pain shot through my stomach as soon as I tried to move. My head fell back against the hard ground as I groaned in annoyance.

The author stops everything and transports our consciousness to discuss and reboot the entire story, and she doesn't even bother to heal my wounds? How considerate of her.

I didn't move immediately. Just lying there, bleeding on the ice, was tiring enough. Grunting, I moved my arm to feel the wound. It seemed that the blood flow had stopped. That was good anyway.

The wind blew gently over the barren plateau. Other than that it was quiet. Where did everyone go? Did they leave me for dead? Didn't even bury my body, wow.

Getting up would be necessary at some point. I'd just have to suck up the pain and get through it. Probably find someone who could get me medical treatment. Or something.

The descent down from Ravenhill was difficult. I didn't know what time I had first returned to consciousness, but the sun had long since sank below the horizon when i reached almost flat ground. It was the following morning that I started towards the gates of Erebor. I hoped that is where I would find everyone. A walk from the dwarf city to dale would be nearly impossible. And if they were all the way back in Laketown, or farther... might as well just give up if that were the case.

As I drew closer to the lonely mountain, I began to see movement around the entrance to Erebor. The opening was wide and cracked, from where the dragon had burst through before raining fire down upon the elves of Mirkwood. We must have won the battle, there was no way we would have lost. That's not how these stories went.

It was on the ridge, a few leagues away from the gate, that I collapsed. I was standing one moment. Then the ground came up to meet my face and it all went black. The figures at the gate were still too far away to see.

"She'll probably wake tomorrow or the day after." A deep voice guzzled in the background. "It's a nasty wound, but it hit no major organs."

"Good." Another voice replied. "That's good."

"Seriously, what was that idiot thinking?" That sounded like Miley. But she should be home, safe. What was she doing here?

This new revelation prompted me to wake up properly. No more groggy eavesdropping.

I was inside. A finely carved stone ceiling greeted my eyes, illuminated by flickering torch light that was strange against the green marble. I sat up from the cot I had been lying on, torso thick from the bandages wrapped around my wound. The people I had heard talking were not in the room, but on the other side of a partially closed door. I could see one of them through the crack. He was one of the dwarves from the company. Gloin I think... or maybe his brother. I didn't know which was which. I hadn't spent a long time around them after all. His grey hair disappeared after a moment as the conversation started again.

"Where did she come from anyway? We looked everywhere."

"It must've been the aftereffect of the reboot."

"The what now, lassie?"

"The reb- never mind."

"We've got to focus on the important thing Kee, she's back now. And she's safe. That should be a load off your mind." Kili was out there too. I suddenly felt the urgency to leave the room lessen considerably.

"Right." Was the short reply. "Anyway, has Uncle Thorin come back from Laketown yet? Rina and Ori are getting impatient."

"Well they'll just have to learn to be patient." Miley's amused voice replied with a chuckle. "There's no way a wedding would go down in Erebor without the King Under the Mountain present."

"They might not wait for a wedding at this point." Fili's good humored comment seemed louder than the others, and just at that moment she... he pushed open the door and walked it, carrying a washcloth and pitcher. He stopped in his tracks when he saw me siting up.

"Hey."

"Welcome back." And then he just walked in and put his stuff on the small table in the room. Like it was the most natural thing in the world. I was pretty sure he still hated me for being such a bitch the entire time I knew him. But the blonde haired dwarf gave no indication of that whatsoever. Maybe it was the lighting. I couldn't see the look of distaste on his face that must be it. "You feeling better Nimm? Oin said you'd need a day or two more to recover."

"I feel like crap." I replied honestly, still puzzled about his lack of hate and aggression. "But I heard Mi-"

The door slammed open and Miley rushed in, throwing her arms around me and grinning like a madman. "M! You're awake, thank goodness."

"Nice to see you too." I patted her head awkwardly as Oin and Kili entered the room in a calmer manner.

"We were so worried when we couldn't find you! What happened? Where did you go?" She let me go to look me in the eyes.

"I don't know, but it's not important. Why are you here? Miley, you were supposed to go back home. That's why I suffered through all of this, so you could be home and safe on earth." Was it all for nothing? Was all that death and misery wasted after all?

"It's fine. It's all sorted out." Miley grinned, waving away my worries. "I got your power see. Well, not quite the same. But it's similar. I can travel from earth to here at will now. And other books too. Though I can't take anyone with me. I guess to stop this whole mix up from happening again. But it's fine now. I can go home whenever I want."

I couldn't help but break out into a huge smile of relief. She could go home. I actually did it. I fixed the problem that had started all of this in the first place.

"You wouldn't believe all that's happened since the battle." Miley started. "It's only been a few weeks I think, but we've made a lot of progress working on Erebor and fixing relations with Laketown and such. And we just finished-"

Fili interrupted with a loud cough. "Maybe we should let Nimm get some rest. She's still recovering, right Oin."

"Oh, right." The old dwarf nodded, turning to leave. Fili escorted Miley out the door, but stopped in the archway to block Kili from coming through after them. Fili turned to him younger brother, looked him in the eye, and shut the door in his face.

The sound of muted voices steadily grew quieter as the three of them walked away, leaving Kili and I to the awkward silence of the room.

I stared at my feet, which were bare, my mud covered boots siting in the corner of the room like a wounded animal, lurking in the shadows.

I didn't want to do this. Just go to sleep. Maybe he'll leave. I could go on pretending that our relationship could ever work out.

It was worth a shot. I meant to lay back down, sleep again. But my body wouldn't move. My eyes were glued to my feet. Scared to move.

Boots scuffed the ground. I looked quickly to the corner to make sure they were not my own. The sound stopped. I knew Kili had been the one to make the sound. He wasn't here. If I could just convince myself that he wasn't here. He left with the others. So I could get some rest and recover.

"I love you."

"No." I did not look at him. He wasn't there. I wasn't hearing him. "You don't. You just think you do. It's a plot device. There's no such thing as a 'One'. We hate each other."

"Nimm." The boots scuffed over stone again and stopped as Kili kneeled in front of me, taking my hands in his. "I love you."

I shut my eyes tight. "It's a lie. I can't feel what you're feeling. We aren't soulmates or whatever sappy shit we were told."

"Don't you want to be happy?" His fingers brushed the short strands of hair out of my face. "Tell me you don't love me." My mouth was too dry to speak. "Look me in the eye and tell me you don't love me."

"I-I can't..." I squeezed my eyes shut tighter. "You know I can't."

"Why won't you look at me?"

"What if they're right? What if it doesn't work out? What if it all was a lie? I don't want to be hurt anymore. I don't want you to get hurt because of me."

"Nimm..." His hands squeezed mine tighter. "That is the stupidest reason I have ever heard."

I glared at him. "Excuse you, but those just happen to be may emotions and fears your talking about there, have a little resp...ect." My voice trailed off as I looked into his smiling face. Sure, he was laughing at me, but he was laughing. He was happy. "God, I love you."

If I thought Kili looked happy before, it was nothing to the grin that appeared as the words left my lips. A short, disbelieving laugh escaped me and pulled Kili into a tight embrace, burying my face in his hair. He returned the motion immediately, pressing short kisses against my skin.

We weren't a perfect couple, or 'soulmates', or each other's 'One'. But who wants a perfect relationship anyway? We would be there for each other.

"We're going to fight so much, aren't we?" Kili asked from right next to my head.

"So much fighting."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

* * *

**So what do y'all think? Prologue and Fin. or should i write a few more chapters first? Please advise :3**


	78. Chapter 78: A Truly Happy Ending

_You don't know me. But I know you. You are a reader. A dreamer. An observer. You live through other's imaginations. You live through drama created by others, plots constructed by another's design. You read along with the script, as if acting out the role assigned. You escape by living the lives of others. You feel like you have no control._  
_Because you are a character._  
_But I know you. You are not just any old character. You are an extraordinary character. A strong character. And if you're strong, and try very hard, you can control you own story. You just have to try._

Miley finished typing the words onto the page. They were Nimm's words, although she would never admit it in a million years. But they were hers all the same.  
Wise thoughts, shared on the night of Ori and Rina's wedding, after most of Erebor had fallen asleep into a drunken stupor. Miley was the exception, due to her still unborn child. She had found Nimm siting on the ramparts, overlooking the expanse between Erebor and Dale. An empty flask of wine hung loosely in her hand and her face was flushed, despite the brisk breeze. An effect from the beverage no doubt.  
Miley met to bring her in, away from the edge of the wall to a safer, more level seat. But Nimm started talking before Miley had even said a word.  
Those words she said, to the breeze, as if speaking them to some invisible audience. But there was no one to hear but Miley.

The days after Nimm's reawakening were pleasantly eventful. Dwarves from across the land were coming to help rebuild the great kingdom. Ori and Rina had their wedding. Miley prepared for, and then gave birth to, the half-orc baby. It was by no means a healthy looking thing, and their was a clear tension in the room whenever anyone mentioned it. But the little half orc girl still had that same infant smell that puts one at ease when all is quiet and still. After it was a month or two old, Miley was able to make day trips back to earth to visit her family, make excuses for her absences, and all of those things. Rina was more than happy to look after Chloe while Miley did this. Nimm was more than a little skeptical of the name, but Miley was adamant, claiming that it meant 'green shoot' in greek.  
Nimm and Kili got married that spring, once the frost melted and flowers began returning to the land. There's really not much to say about it. It happened. Everyone got drunk. Pretty usual for a dwarven wedding.  
They lived a happy life at Erebor. And everyone was happy. Lots of babies were made, the next generation of heroes and heroines, the story of how the mountain was reclaimed past into history.  
That what is wanted, isn't it? A satisfying ending. Everything happy and peaceful. No more struggles, no more pain, no more worry.  
Sounds more like death to me.  
Let me offer an alternate 'ending'.  
It was a long winter. One that defeated even the high spirits of the happy dwarves. It delayed the arrival of many dwarves. Those that had made it were confined within the walls of Erebor. Things went stir crazy. People got irritable. Fear of the mind spread deep and the poisoned dragon gold corrupted the minds of all those dwelling within the mountain. It was inevitable. As things got worse, Nimm got out. Taking Chloe with her since Miley was away when things reached their breaking point. Kili caught up with her later that night, finding her walking along the road headed east.  
And they walked.  
Miley found them weeks later in some uncharted region. They were surviving well enough. She told them how Thorin and Dwalin were the only members of the company to remain in Erebor, trying to govern a mad people while they went mad themselves. Balin, Ori, and Rina had gone with a few others down to the Mines of Moria, where recolonization looked hopeful.  
Fili had gone with his mother back to the Blue Mountains. Bilbo remained in Hobbiton, where Miley often visited him. He eventually took on his nephew after an unfortunate accident. That took up a lot of his free time, the rest of it was spent writing about all his many adventures.  
In the end, Miley took Chloe to live in the Blue Mountains where sickness of the mind did not thrive.  
Nimm and Kili? Well, they took off into the east. No one has seen them since.  
Perhaps they found a nice place to settle down. Or maybe they're lying dead in the desert, their corpses nothing but a quick meal for the wildlife nearby.  
But something tells me that they are off on a marvelous adventure. We will never know what it is. But one can be sure, that they are having a grand time.  
And that, after all, is what life is about.

**The End**

* * *

**And that's all she wrote XD Thanks for reading! I'd love to hear you thoughts. Even 30 years from now if the internet still exists by that point, feel free to review. I'm always coming back to see if anybody's left me some comment or inspiration. **

**Its time to rewrite my own story and finally do something with my life. Bye!**

**-the BugSlayer**


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